Miljan Mrdakovic has died at the age of 38 after reportedly shooting himself in the head.
Striker took his own life in his rented Belgrade condo over the weekend after saying “I can’t take this anymore”.
Mrdakovic played for twenty clubs across 10 countries together with Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Isreal.
Former Serbian footballer, Miljan Mrdakovic has died at the age of 38 after reportedly shooting himself in the head after struggling with depression and anxiousness.
Local media report that the retired Partizan Belgrade, Anderlecht, and Gent striker took his own life in his rented Belgrade condo over the weekend after saying “I can’t take this anymore”.
His heartbroken partner and singer, Ivana Stanic, informed the media: ‘We had an ideal relationship, everything was great. ‘However he had issues, he preferred to drink and I think that, along with the problems he had with depression, is the main reason why he did it.
‘After the end of his profession, he struggled to manage because soccer meant everything to him. ‘He began working as an agent, however it’s a job where sometimes you have work and earnings, sometimes you don’t. He was depressed and anxious.
‘The day before the suicide he drank a little too much and I felt like something bad could happen. I calmed him down, dragged him to mattress and we talked all evening.
‘When we woke up, he started drinking. I froze when I saw a gun next to him. I cried and asked him to put it away and I called his mother to talk to him. ‘I requested him to come with me and went to the bathroom to get dressed.
Every now and then I looked at what he was doing and then suddenly I heard a shot. I ran away from the apartment and called the paramedics.’
Mrdakovic played for twenty clubs across 10 countries together with Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Isreal. He additionally played 9 matches with Serbia U21s and three times for Serbia at the 2008 Olympics.
Former club Maccabi Tel Aviv posted a statement, reading: “Maccabi Tel Aviv is saddened to learn of the passing of the club’s former Serbian striker, Miljan Mrdakovic, who died in tragic circumstances on Friday in his native Belgrade, aged 38.
“Mrdakovic played for Maccabi in the 2006-07 season under then-coach Eli Cohen, and as a 24-year-old he made an immediate impression when in the opening spherical of the season he scored a spectacular goal against Beitar Jerusalem as he beat three defenders in a solo run that began in his own half before unleashing a strong shot from the edge of the area.
“That season was his only campaign with Maccabi Tel Aviv in which he scored eight goals and set up 4 others in 29 appearances. After leaving Maccabi he moved to Portugal.”
