Former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie reveals suicide attempts over £10m failed property deals

PUBLISHED: 10:57 EST, 13 May 2012 | UPDATED: 07:10 EST, 14 May 2012

Lee Hendrie has revealed he twice tried to commit suicide after losing £10 million in failed property deals.

The former Aston Villa and England midfielder, who earned £24,000-a-week in his heyday, lost a potential £10million in property deals and ended up with debts of over £1million.

And Hendrie has now admitted it all became too much for him.

Lee Hendrie.

'I seriously wanted to end it all,' the 34-year-old told the Sunday Mirror.

At the peak of his career Hendrie says he had it all. He was playing for Villa every week in front of 40,000 fans, had 12 caps for England Under-21s and had been selected to play for the first team under Glenn Hoddle.

He had spent £1.2million on 20 luxury cars, including a Ferrari 360 Spider, had a £1.7million mansion and partied in the nation's most exclusive clubs.

International star: Hendrie for England

His marriage to his childhood sweetheart fell apart within HOURS after she found him texting another woman - one who would later save his life.

But his life began to unravel in 2010 when his career appeared to fade.

He had left Aston Villa after 251 appearances to join Sheffield United then to Derby County.

But he was making the first team less and less and soon realised his career was in its twilight. Then depression started to take hold.

'I couldn’t get a contract with a club. I had no money left, all the houses were going and everything just came tumbling down,' he said. 'I felt I had failed my family and I wanted out... to end it all.'

Hendrie will marry his fiance Emma Cheal, 27, this week. He credits her with saving his life after he took an overdose of tablets, washed down with wine.

He says she called police who managed to trace his car after a conversation on the phone left her fearing the worst.

'I was all over the place,' he said. 'She said "where are you?" I said "don’t worry" and put the phone down. Next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital on a drip.'

But that wasn't the end of his troubles. He tried to do the same thing again last July.

After his second attempt Hendrie began to face up to his problems and has attended regular counseling sessions.

Troubled times: Hendrie also played for Bradford as his career came to an end

Now playing non-league football and scraping a living wherever he can, Lee admitted, he described it as his 'wake-up call'.

The death of his former Sheffield United team-mate Gary Speed, found hanged at his home, was a shocking reminder of the devastation his actions could have caused to his whole family.

He said he felt 'sick' the day he heard the news and imagined what Speed's suicide had done to his wife and children.

He says he is determined to get his life back on track and wants others to learn from his experiences.