Serbian player Miljan Mrdakovic ended his life aged 38 'after battle with depression and anxiety'

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Serbian footballer Miljan Mrdakovic has died aged 38 after reportedly shooting himself in the head after struggling with depression.

The retired Partizan Belgrade, Anderlecht and Gent striker took his own life in his rented Belgrade apartment over the weekend after struggling with what his girlfriend described as 'depression and anxiety'.

His partner Ivana Stanic, a singer, told the media: 'We had an ideal relationship, everything was great.

Serbian player Miljan Mrdakovic took his own life following a battle with depression

His girlfriend Ivana Stanic revealed Mrdakovic had been struggling with anxiety since retiring

'But he had problems, he liked to drink and I think that, in addition to the problems he had with depression, is the main reason why he did it.

'After the end of his career, he struggled to cope because football meant everything to him. 

'He started working as an agent, but it is a job where sometimes you have work and earnings, sometimes you don't. He was depressed and anxious.

The striker represented Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

'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 bed and we talked all night.

'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 asked 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.'

Stanic posted two pictures of the couple together on social media after his death.

Mrdakovic was in the youth academy of Partizan Belgrade before moving to Anderlecht but didn't make an appearance for the Belgian club's first team.

He returned home to OFK Belgrade but was soon back in the Belgian league with Gent before later playing for Austria Salzburg, Metalist Kharkiv, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Vitoria Guimaraes, Shandong Luneng, Apollon Limassol and several other clubs.

He played at youth level for Yugoslavia and was part of the Serbian Olympic team at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

A nomadic playing career took Mrdakovic to a number of different clubs and countries