The ex-footballer Dani Benítez, remembered for his time at clubs such as Granada and Mallorca, is once again in the media spotlight after offering one of the most powerful testimonies of his professional life. He has done so in a new documentary broadcast by Movistar, where he reconstructs with crudeness the night that changed his future forever: a punctual consumption of cocaine that ended in a positive for doping and a sanction that stopped his evolution in the First Division.
Benítez himself admits that, until that moment, he had never used drugs and that it was a decision taken out of absolute unconsciousness. The story, raw and unadorned, shows him facing a mistake that, as he himself admits, he will “always” carry with him.
The night that changed everything: alcohol, pressure and a fateful decision
The former player recounts in detail that Friday that led to the doping control that ruined his career. The story begins with a party at his house that went on much longer than expected. Sleepless, completely drunk and with training at 7:30 in the morning, he made a desperate decision.
”I did a line of cocaine believing that my body would be better to hold on to go train”.#InformePlus: Dani Benítez. 𝑬𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒏̃𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒐. pic.twitter.com/GAs91ZPOUR
– Plus+ Report by Movistar Plus+ (@InformePlus) November 17, 2025
“He arrived on a Friday and we had a party at home, and it dragged on. The next day I had training, it would be 7:30 in the morning and I was very drunk. I said, ‘Oh my God, now I have to go train and I’m not in a state to go train’. One person said to me: ‘Take a line, you’re going to wake up and go train’. And I did a line of cocaine. That was the biggest mistake of my life and I will always carry it with me. I did a line of cocaine believing that my body would be better to endure and go train. I had never taken drugs in my life, never in my life. “, he explains in the documentary Informe Plus.
The result of that night is well known: the anti-doping control after the match against Betis, positive for cocaine, and a two-year ban that cut short his progression and closed many doors that until then seemed to have been open to him.
A mistake that took away his professional life
Months ago, the former player also addressed this episode on the set of El Chiringuito, where he summed up in one sentence the impact it had on his life: “They took away my life“. Despite the pain, he insists that he never had a subsequent addiction or habitual consumption. “Was I addicted afterwards? No, not at all… I have always spoken about this subject openly and I have no problem in admitting my mistake. “he told Josep Pedrerol at the time.
Benitez clearly remembers that day of the positive, a match against Real Betis that came accompanied by a personal context that, seen in perspective, was a perfect storm. “We were playing against Real Betis at home, on Sunday at 12 o’clock. I was coming off an injury and we had a party at home. I thought I was not going to be called up, I have said it many times. “he says. But he was called up. And the worst decision of his life, taken just a few hours before, had no turning back.
The weight of a sanction that left him without opportunities
The two-year suspension became a difficult burden to lift. Although he tried hard to come back, to prove that it had been a one-off mistake, professional soccer did not give him another chance. “One night I got drunk and made the worst decision of my life. That cost me the sanction “he admits.
Despite repeating that he never developed a drug dependency, the stigma of the positive accompanied him for years and conditioned any option to return to the elite. “Was I addicted afterwards? No, not at all… I have never had a drug addiction problem, so to speak. Thanks to God, I have never had a drug addiction problem, so to speak. “he insists in his defense.
A frustrated return: closed doors and a second chance that never arrived
After serving his suspension, he returned to training and looking for a team, but the rejection was widespread. He himself admits how much it hurt him to see his name generated mistrust.
“When I came back from the two-year suspension, all the doors were closed. And that hurt me a lot. It’s normal that they don’t trust you, but it’s complicated… What I wanted was to go back to being a soccer player and show that I was wrong, that I made a mistake. It was a very serious mistake, one that shouldn’t have been made, but you can’t erase it. “, he reflects.
That failure in his attempt to rejoin the elite marked the end of his time in professional soccer as he had dreamed it would be.
