Apr 24

Apr 24 Lee Hendrie: The Rise and Fall of a Premier League Star

Crippy Cooke

Stories

A Loss of £10m and a Fall into Depression: The True Story of Lee Hendrie

Lee Hendrie was a Premier League footballer for 13 years, representing the England national team at his peak.

So how did he end up losing £10m and trying to commit suicide more than once?

Read the true story of this controversial football star.

Lee Hendrie made over 250 top-flight appearances, played in front of 40,000 supporters each week, and earned £30k-per-week/£1.5m-a-year in wages.

However, he would end his career in non-league football after losing his entire fortune while struggling with depression.

So, how did it all go wrong?

Hendrie’s Rise at Aston Villa

Hendrie was born in Solihull, West Midlands on May 18, 1977.

His father, Paul, played for Birmingham City before his introduction into the world, but Lee joined Aston Villa’s academy when they came calling in 1993.

A year later, Hendrie was named in the squad for the Villans’ Coca-Cola Cup final win over Manchester United.

He didn’t make his first-team debut until the next year, however, making three appearances in 1995/96 and seven appearances in 1996/97.

Hendrie would rack up 24 appearances in all competitions the following campaign and he was named Villa’s Young Player of the Season.

The now 45-year-old received his one and only England cap that same year too, coming off the bench in a 2-0 friendly win over Czech Republic on November 18, 1998, so his career was on the rise.

Hendrie never managed to add to his solitary cap, but he was a regular for Villa until 2005, racking up more than 300 appearances in all competitions.

He reached the League Cup semi-finals in 1999/00 and 2003/04, and he reached the FA Cup final in 2000.

Those would be the heights of Hendrie’s career, however, as constant injuries hampered his fitness while a change in manager sealed his fate at Villa.

Hendrie underwent knee surgery and had calf trouble in 2005/06, so it wasn’t a shock that he lost his starting place, and struggled to regain the form he showed as a youngster.

The now 45-year-old featured in only 42% of Villa’s league games and amassed 19% of available playing time, being used out of position a lot of times, so the writing was on the wall.

Manager Martin O’Neill felt Hendrie was surplus to requirements in 2006/07 due to his fitness woes and advancing age, so he was loaned out to Stoke City.

“I had a conversation with Martin and he was golden. He was straight up with me.
He basically said he was looking to change the whole club around, getting a lot of the older players out and bringing a lot of younger players in,” Hendrie told Birmingham Live in 2020

Villa had finished 16th the previous season and were undergoing a squad overhaul, so the long-serving midfielder didn’t make the cut.

And with Hendrie making more headlines for controversy than sporting achievements, the decision made sense.

Regret Over Move to Sheffield United

Hendrie was loaned out to Stoke City in 2006 and spent the entire season at the Britannia, making 28 appearances across the board, but he opted against turning this into a permanent move despite what seemed an impressive stint.

Hendrie instead signed a three-year deal at Sheffield United after being released by Villa in 2007, but he endured an injury-laden first season.

The Blades missed out on the playoffs while Stoke ironically won automatic promotion.

Hendrie made just 14 appearances in his debut campaign and didn’t get on with manager Kevin Blackwell, who replaced Bryan Robson just months after Hendrie’s arrival.

The one-time England midfielder blamed Blackwell for killing his career, as he felt he was singled out due to his reputation and scapegoated for his injury problems.

"I should have signed for Stoke after leaving Villa, that was one of my main regrets.
(Signing for) Sheffield United was just the worst thing I could have done. Kevin Blackwell was one of the worst managers I have ever, ever been under.
He put the nail in the coffin for (my career). He made a mockery of me at Sheffield United,” Hendrie told the Claret & Blue Podcast.

Hendrie was loaned out to Leicester City midway into his debut season, playing nine times, but he couldn’t nail down a starting place upon his return.

The 45-year-old made 12 appearances in 2008/09, spending a brief period on loan at Blackpool, before being released at the end of the campaign.

Hendrie was sent off as a late substitute in United’s playoff final defeat to Burnley and that was his final game for the club.

Bankruptcy, Depression and Non-League Football

Hendrie moved to Derby in 2009 and managed only nine appearances before being loaned out to Brighton.

He was released by the Rams at the end of the season and would eventually join Bradford City, but 2010 was one of the worse years of Hendrie’s life.

Hendrie revealed in a Guardian interview that his property empire amassed insurmountable debts in 2010 which led to his mother’s home being repossessed.

Hendrie lost his own house too and it sent him into depression. His playing career had unravelled and now his fortune was gone.

“The football was almost over and my head was gone. I’d been trying to sell property, but the housing market crashed. I got to the stage where I just wanted to end it all. I’d hit rock bottom.”

The Englishman admitted a failed suicide attempt but says he only remembers waking up in an ambulance.

Nine months later, he tried again, citing his divorce and bankruptcy as the reasons why he wanted to end it all.

He woke up on a life-support machine in front of his distraught family. Hendrie says he made up to six attempts on his own life that failed.

“I’ve always been brought up as a provider. And when you’re a proud man and you can’t provide? That’s when I thought it was the end.
My wife went through an awful lot. it’s hard to explain when you can’t reach out to someone. I was a closed book.”

Hendrie was battling depression at the same time as his career went in a nomadic direction.

He was unable to settle at any club for more than a season, playing for Bandung (2011), Daventry Town (2011), Kidderminster Harriers (2011/12), Chasetown (2012), Redditch United (2012) and Tamworth (2012/13) before retiring from professional football.

He went from Derby in 2009 to Tamworth just three years later.

Hendrie would go on to play for Corby Town (2013), Highgate United (2013), Basford United (2013 - 2015), Montpellier (2016/17), Redditch United (2016), Nuneaton Griff (2019) and Highgate United (2019) in a non-professional setting.

Hendrie played in the Premier League but dropped all the way down to the 12th tier of English football, losing £10m over the course of his career. However, he’s been given a second chance.

Present Day

The now 45-year-old has found a new purpose as a pundit for Sky Sports, in addition to being director of Footie Bugs.

And while he’s still on antidepressants and spends time looking after his mental health, Hendrie says his kids keep him going and he’s enjoyed working back in football.

During his playing days, he was involved in a car crash, brawled at a party, was guilty of drink-driving, had issues with indiscipline and was guilty of assault, so it seems like he’s come a long way since then.

Hendrie is on TV again, participating in Harry’s Heroes. He’s talked to Sky Sports about his battle with depression and he’s done hours of footage for Tubes & Ange Golf Life- so things are on the up.