I was sick of football at PSG - Van der Wiel
The ex-Netherlands international, who has not played for any clubs since 2018, did not love the game as much during his time with the Ligue 1 side.
Gregory van der Wiel
, who was once a star at
PSG, felt “sick of football” when he played with
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
,
Edinson Cavani
and
Marco Verratti
.
When he left Ajax in 2012, the former Netherlands international was a prized asset but his move to France turned out to be a nightmare for him.
He featured in 134 matches for PSG, contributing to Ligue 1 titles, but he has grown sick of football during his time in Paris and has not had a club since 2018.
Explaining his struggles in Paris to
Kick’t Net
, van der Wiel said:
"You land in France, with different players, different coaches, different tactics. I arrived in a team full of stars, guys that you often play with on Playstation. I arrived as a young guy, with my eyes wide open, shaking their hands. It was crazy, really incredible.
"I received an offer to extend my contract by three years, that's true, but I decided not to extend it. I wasn't very happy there. I wasn't always playing. I didn't have the security of playing regularly.
"There were also some incidents in my last season [2015-16] that annoyed me. Serge Aurier's live Periscope video, for example, where he spoke about the coach [Laurent Blanc] and about me in particular, two or three days before an important Champions League match against Chelsea. He was punished for that.
"Everyone sent me messages of 'Get ready, you're the one who will be playing'. Of course, it was an opportunity for me. In the end, I didn't even play. They put Marquinhos in my position even though he is a central defender.
"They were difficult moments to experience, where you feel bad, and you say 'Guys, do you think I'm that bad that I am second choice at right-back with a central defender in my position?' It made me not want to stay there. To be honest, at that time I was sick of football."
He departed PSG when he hit free agency in 2016 and his last club was Toronto FC, where he played in 34 matches before becoming a free agent once more.
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