Promotion out of the league to the Premier League was a ‘killer’ for my body and mind – Jamie Vardy

Vardy was released by his boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday for being too young, but the documentary reveals footage of his amazing goalscoring form in his Stocksbridge days while also working in a factory manufacturing medical splints.

However, in the first of a series of problems in 2007, Vardy admitted in the documentary that he had “no stability” in his life. He was convicted of assault while drinking and had to wear an ankle tag for six months.

He also had a 6pm curfew which meant he had to leave matches early.

He moved to Halifax City – where Vardy met his long-time agent John Morris – and was later followed by Fleetwood Town, before a £1m move to then Championship club Leicester City.

Weaving throughout are ‘The Inbetweeners’ – a nickname given to Vardy’s small, all-male social group from Sheffield – who act as his main support, alongside his wife.

“If one of us has a problem, let’s put it in the group,” Vardy says. “We might get abused for a while, but at least we keep an eye on each other.”

They were needed, says former Foxes midfielder Andy King Vardy experienced an initial ‘culture shock’ at Leicester, with the striker admitting he initially felt he was not good enough.

Physiotherapist Dave Rennie also confirmed accounts of Vardy’s struggles with alcohol, which were exacerbated by the pressure of the move, including “making his own vodka Skittles at home”.

Vardy would arrive at training drunk and, on one occasion, was out of touch with the then-pregnant Rebecca, or Becky as he affectionately called her.

It was felt that he would give up his career, but the work of a “good psychiatrist”, the patience of manager Nigel Pearson and his own efforts to grow after the birth of his daughter Ella helped him carry on.

Fame still brings more problems. A 2015 Sun on Sunday story showed a video of him using a racial slur against a Japanese man at a casino.

He later described it as “a pretty huge learning curve”, explaining that he never learned which terms he could and could not use.

The film also highlights “one of the hardest things” Vardy went through when he rushed home from a team bonding trip to Helsinki after being told a tabloid newspaper was running a story about his secret biological father, of whom he had no prior knowledge.

However, Vardy became a superstar and top scorer in Leicester City’s 2015-16 Premier League title campaign, going on to lift the FA Cup and fulfilling his agent’s prediction, made when he signed for Halifax, that he would one day play for England.

Asked whether he could achieve more at the international level after retiring from England in 2018, Vardy replied: “Maybe. We will never know.”

“I’ll be honest, leaving for England is unbelievable – you want to play for your country – but the mental side of it was difficult. That changed when Gareth signed [Southgate] You walked in, but before that you were stuck in your room all day.

“You’ve trained and then you just go back to your hotel room, pull your hair out. There’s only so much time you can spend on the PlayStation or talking to the kids on video calls. You haven’t really seen them and now you’re being pulled away for another two weeks. It’s tough.”

“At that time, after the World Cup, I just wanted protection [my legs] “As much as possible, to prolong my career with the club, and since I’m still going now, it’s clearly the right decision.”