Charlie Adam opens up on the suicide of his father

In an incredibly brave move, the Scotland international recounted the heart breaking situation, which took place at Christmas.

He said: "My brother was calling me and calling me. I answered the phone. He was in tears. He couldn't really say it... 'listen, I've found Dad in the bedroom'."

Charlie Adam Snr was another professional footballer and was described as ''this big, hard person" by his son, not one to open up.

Adam continued: "Really, he had a soft heart. He was an emotional guy. He was devoted to family. It was just out of the blue,"

"We always had a ritual where my dad would wrap the [Christmas] presents, but he'd lock the door. When my brother went in and found the door locked, he thought he was wrapping presents."

Adam hopes that recounting his pain can act as inspiration for others, but he admitted that he found it tough and it affected his performances, making him fall out of favour. 

"That hit me hard," Adam says. "I had a four-year contract and I'd played from the start of the season right up until that moment.

"But fortunately, I'd played for Liverpool in the Europa League [earlier that year] and you can't play for three teams in one season, so there was no way I could go anywhere else.

"I never played until March. We were in a bit of a relegation battle, and I got thrown in to Queens Park Rangers away. I never expected it. That was us, I was in the team until the end of the season."

Adam, who didn't make the news public at the time, decided against bottling up the emotion that the trauma caused, instead choosing to seek help. 

October 10, 2018

"That summer was the most difficult - reality kicked in," the former Rangers midfielder, now 32, recalls.

"I was going to see psychologists, people at the club were helping me, and they just put it into perspective - I was trying to control the whole family, but I was doing about five different jobs for one guy.

"Sometimes you need to sit back and look after yourself - you're in an emotional state as well. It was a difficult time but when I got back into playing, a new manager [Mark Hughes] came in, and it was great.

"It's always tough when the date comes round but I can talk about it now. I hope my experiences, because I'm in the public eye a little bit, can help other people.

"It was a tough time for the family, but we got together and we're stronger now for it."