Former England international striker Stan Collymore said yesterday he was suffering from clinical depression last season and was on the brink of suicide.

Collymore (29) who has not played for English Premiership side Aston Villa this season, said in an interview with the Observer newspaper that his condition accelerated after he assaulted his then-girlfriend Ulrika Jonnson and was treated at the Priory clinic.

"I considered suicide because I thought: `Well, what is the alternative'," Collymore told the newspaper. "It's like being in a bubble of nothing. It's as if somebody takes your brain out, takes your physical capabilities away. I would pinch myself, but I just felt numb."

Collymore's proposed move to French club Montpellier collapsed last week after the troubled striker refused to play in a practice match.

Collymore had flown to France to discuss a potential move to the struggling First Division side, but Montpellier boss Michel Mezy has claimed the player refused to play in a specially-arranged practice match.

The striker told the Observer that he had turned down several transfers because he believes he still has plenty to offer Villa, the club he supported as a boy.