Former Brazil international defender Cicinho has revealed his battles with alcohol and confessed he attended Real Madrid training sessions whilst drunk. The right-back arrived at Los Blancos during the summer of 2005 and remained for two seasons in the Spanish capital – during which he featured in 32 matches.

He transferred to Italian side Roma in 2007 and remained with the Giallorossi for five years, including temporary spells at Sao Paulo and Villarreal. In 2012, Cicinho disclosed he “smoked and got drunk” whilst excluded from the Roma squad and “I didn’t do drugs because of the anti-doping tests.” He subsequently confessed to consuming two packets of cigarettes daily and maintained that his difficulties commenced following his Madrid move.

Cicinho had arrived at the Spanish club as one of South America’s most sought-after talents following his contribution to Sao Paulo’s Copa Libertadores triumph, Brazilian championship victory and Club World Cup success. Nevertheless, despite accumulating over 250 senior appearances – including 15 caps for the Brazilian national side – the defender never fulfilled his early promise.

The right-back has now discussed his off-field troubles on the Ressaca programme broadcast on Brazilian television channel EPTV. He revealed that becoming dependent on alcohol proved remarkably straightforward and detailed how he concealed his drinking habits from his team-mates.

Cicinho confessed: “If you ask me if I have ever been drunk to train with Real Madrid, I did. I drank coffee to take the smell away from my breath and I doused myself in perfume. In my profession, as a professional footballer, it was easy. I didn’t need money to get a drink, people happily gave it to me in restaurants.”

The ex-right-back revealed that his drinking problem began in his teens: “When I was 13 years old, that’s when I tried alcohol for the first time, and I never stopped. I lived in the country, and on weekends we met with friends and went out to clubs and discos.”

The former player, now 41 and rehabilitated, has issued a warning about the effects of alcohol: “Alcohol surrounds you with people who like that lifestyle, and people who really love you are left out.

“I have a 15-year-old son and I am always apologising to him. At that time he was two years old and he did not even understand it well, but that is what I remember in my head.”