My wife hired a private detective and caught me in bed with a stripper… I was addicted to naked women, admits Prem icon

PREM atrocious lad Andy van der Meyde admits helium lies awake astatine nighttime reasoning what could person been - aft off-field scandals ended his vocation aged conscionable 31.

The ex-Everton midfielder saw his matrimony autumn isolated aft a backstage researcher recovered him successful furniture with a stripper.

Van Der Meyde battled depression, drink, drugs and enactment addiction during his 12-year career.

He arrived astatine Goodison Park from Inter Milan successful 2005 for a interest of £2million.

The present 45-year-old struggled for crippled clip connected Merseyside, contempt arriving with a beardown reputation.

Van Der Meyde had been compared to Portuguese helping wizard Luis Figo during his breakthrough years astatine Ajax.

But distant from the field, the Dutchman was surviving the beingness of a playboy footballer to the extreme.

Van Der Meyde admitted successful 2012 that helium "had a beardown longing for bare women."

It led him down a acheronian way - and would yet outgo him his matrimony to woman Diane.

Recalling an incidental successful 2006, the Dutchman told SunSport: "I bought a Ferrari and the archetypal halt was the Newz Bar, a fashionable spot successful Liverpool.

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"After a mates of hours of drinking alcohol, I drove to the nearest portion club.

"Getting drunk successful a portion nine successful the mediate of Liverpool was not precise smart. But I had a beardown longing for bare women.

"I saw a brunette and I wanted to person enactment with her. But aft I’d had enactment with [the stripper] Lisa erstwhile I was addicted. She was wild, brainsick and horny."

Van Der Meyde's destructive streak led him to play distant regularly, prompting woman Diane into drastic measures.

He aboriginal revealed: "I said to my ex-wife that I wanted to spell to a edifice due to the fact that I was injured astatine the clip and I needed immoderate rest.

"But that was not the lawsuit - I was conscionable cheating connected her.

"A backstage detective had videos and photos of maine and my caller woman and past my woman rang maine and said 'How's your caller girlfriend?'

"I was inactive denying it then."

Van Der Meyde's off-field issues began successful Milan, earlier his big-money determination to the Premier League successful 2005.

He told the BBC: "I went retired and drank and I wasn’t reasoning astir football.

"I was depressed, I wasn’t playing anymore. I was besides checking the likelihood and betting frequently."

In August 2007, Everton fined the Dutchman £50,000 aft helium failed to crook up to training.

Van Der Meyde developed an addiction to medicine drugs arsenic helium struggled to header with his girl becoming earnestly ill.

He continued: "Because of the changeless warring with Lisa, the unwellness of my girl and the b******t astatine the nine I developed sleeping problems.

"I was going done tons of bottles of vino and Bacardi and due to the fact that I ne'er got bushed I started taking sleeping pills to get my night’s rest.

"Soon I couldn’t slumber without popping a pill — I was addicted. The pills were beauteous heavy, the benignant you lone get with a doctor’s prescription.

"So I stole them from the bureau of the nine doc and nary 1 noticed - for much than 2 years I stole those pills."

The Dutch ace would beryllium frozen retired connected Merseyside for the adjacent year, earlier returning to Holland for unsuccessful spells with PSV Eindhoven and WKE.

Van Der Meyde hung up his boots successful 2012 astatine the property of conscionable 31.

He linked up with boyhood nine Ajax to get his coaching badges, but has admitted helium threw distant his endowment connected the field.

In caller years, the forgotten Prem prima has carved retired a vocation arsenic a YouTuber and adjacent has his ain covering line.

But helium can't assistance but wonderment what mightiness person been, adding: "I was an idiot and sometimes I prevarication successful furniture and deliberation astir it, 'Wow man, travel connected Andy you were a bully player'.

"At 1 infinitesimal I was 2nd down Luis Figo arsenic the champion winger successful Europe and sometimes I deliberation I wasted it.

"That is simply a acquisition and present I privation to assistance different players and assistance them not marque the aforesaid mistakes I did."