The midfielder acknowledged that he has been betting for four months, revealed that he owes a large sum due to illegal gambling, and questioned the prosecutor who dismissed his extortion complaint
Jonathan Gómez decided to make public a situation he tried to keep private for years. The 36-year-old footballer, with a past in Rosario Central, Racing, and Argentinos Juniors, among other clubs, shared in a interview for the YouTube channel Marga TVhow gambling addiction affected his personal and professional life, revealed that he is currently undergoing treatment, and recounted the legal conflict that arose from a debt with an illegal betting platform.
"Yes, yes, yes...", he responded when asked directly if he considers himself a gambling addict. As he explained, the problem began in 2020, when he returned from Brazilian football to play for Argentinos Juniors. Since then, online betting has gained ground in his life until it became an addiction that, as he acknowledged, ended up affecting his relationships, his work, and his finances.
"It distracts you, not only at work but in day-to-day life, it changes your mood, it changes your personality. There are moments when I now sit down to talk with friends that I'm recovering today, and they would say to me: 'Hey, Jony, you weren't there'. And I didn't realize or I was hiding. I didn't want to go or do things. The same with my wife. My wife would say to me: 'Jony, what's wrong with you?'. I was irritated all the time because it leads you to that", he recounted.
Gómez assured that he has been without gambling for four months, is on medication, and is going through a recovery process accompanied by professionals and his family. However, the consequences of the addiction still weigh on his present. "I lost everything. Today I lost everything. I am in a process with my family that is almost destroyed, I have a process in which I don't know if I will be able to play football again, which is what I love the most", he expressed.
One of the aspects that hit him the hardest was the impact on his children. "To lose my family. Now when I go to see my kids and they cry and say to me: 'Why is dad leaving?'. That was the most painful", he said, visibly affected.
The former Sarmiento player also explained why he believes that gambling addiction can progress without the environment detecting the problem in time. "This is a drug. I want people to be clear about this, it is like a drug. It is more silent, because I can be talking to you today and I can have the phone in my hand and you won't realize that I'm playing", he stated.
In parallel to his personal process, Gómez faces a legal conflict over a debt incurred with a clandestine betting platform. According to his complaint, the original amount was around50,000 dollars, but the footballer claimed that he was later forced to sign four promissory notes totaling505,000 dollars.
Gómez received threats over betting
The player stated that during2025 he received threats and that the incidents occurred both at the Sarmiento training ground and at addresses linked to his environment. According to his legal filing, on October 29 he was taken to a notary in Junín, where he was allegedly forced to sign the documents. As a result of that conflict, precautionary measures were also issued that affected the footballer's assets and bank accounts.
The extortion complaint, however, did not progress in court. Prosecutor Aquiles Balbis decided to dismiss it, considering that there were not enough elements to continue the investigation. Gómez questioned that resolution and stated: "The prosecutor never had the intention even to listen to me".
Despite the difficult moment, Gómez assures that he is determined to move forward. "I will turn it around, no matter what. I am on my way and I want to do it. I would change everything. The money, the moment, everything to have peace, so that my children see me happy, because they haven't seen me happy for a long time and for all the people who were by my side and I hurt, not to suffer as they did. Everything I have. Everything, absolutely everything", he concluded.
While he tries to rebuild his life outside of gambling, the footballer also has no certainty about his professional future. His last match was on May 3, when he played the full 90 minutes in Sarmiento's 4-0 defeat against Belgrano, and then he terminated his contract with the club.
