Footballer Jonatan Gómez reveals gambling addiction: 'I lost everything'

Argentine footballer Jonatan Gómez has publicly disclosed his battle with gambling addiction, a struggle that has cost him dearly, leaving him with a $50,000 debt to an illicit betting platform and threatening his career and personal life.

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I lost everything. I lost everything today. I am in a process with my family, which is almost destroyed, I am in a process where I don't know if I will be able to play football again, which is what I like most.

Gómez, who previously played for Rosario Central and Racing, began gambling in mid-2025. He recounted in an interview that the addiction has led him to lose "everything," including significant damage to his family relationships. He described how the compulsion affected his mood, personality, and daily interactions, making him irritable and withdrawn. His wife noticed the changes, and he admitted to hiding his behavior.

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It distracts you, not only in your work, but in day-to-day life, it changes your mood, it changes your personality. There are times when I sit down to talk with friends I am recovering today and they tell me, 'Hey, Jony, you weren't there,' and I didn't realize it or I hid or didn't want to go or didn't do things.

"This is a drug. It's more silent, because I can be talking and have the phone in my hand and you don't realize I'm playing," Gómez explained, highlighting the insidious nature of online gambling. He detailed how the addiction impairs judgment, making individuals unresponsive to advice or reality when they are losing. The emotional toll has been immense, particularly the pain of his children crying when he leaves, asking why he goes away.

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This is a drug. It's more silent, because I can be talking and have the phone in my hand and you don't realize I'm playing.

Despite the devastating consequences, Gómez has been abstinent from gambling for four months and is currently under medical care and medication. However, his situation is compounded by alleged threats and extortion attempts from illegal betting operations demanding payment. He reported being threatened after a training session with his former club, Sarmiento de Junín, to settle his debt. Gómez expressed a strong desire to recover, stating, "I would change everything. The money, the time, everything, to have peace, for my children to see me happy... I am on the path and I want to do it."

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When I go to see my kids, they cry and tell me, 'Why is Dad leaving?'. That was the most painful thing.