Van der Wiel: There were incidents at PSG, I got sick of football

Gregor van der Wiel has reflected on his difficult spell at Paris Saint-Germain, which saw him fall out of love with football.

The former right-back spent four years in Paris between 2012 and 2016 and has given some insight into what it was like as a member of their star-studded dressing room.

"You land in France, with different players, different coaches, different tactics," he said in an interview with Kick't Net.

"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. But, 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."