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“Nobody bothered to ask, ‘Hey, what’s up? Or, how are you feeling?” van der Wiel said.

He also claims he was defrauded of $4.5 million by a close Turkish confidant.

“I wanted to invest some money … but it was not a smart move,” van der Wiel added. “I trusted somebody. At the end, I never saw my money back. That was a bad experience.”

Suddenly, after playing in a World Cup final and competing alongside the likes of then-PSG stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Blaise Matuidi, soccer lost its “pleasure,” van der Wiel said.

A short-term move to Serie A minnow Cagliari failed to act as a quick fix. The ex-Dutch international says he still doesn’t know why coach Diego Lopez benched him for 10 straight games prior to his move to Toronto FC for a transfer fee of roughly $200,000.

“It was the right time to make this step,” van der Wiel said of moving to MLS. “Maybe it was a bit earlier than I expected, but that’s how my life went. I’m a bit tired of being judged … on my private life.”

Van der Wiel circled back Monday to one of his utmost gripes with playing in Europe: He’s tired of being criticized for what he chooses to do in-between Saturdays.

Van der Wiel to often received backlash from fans for modelling next to his long-time girlfriend, Rose Bertram, and entering into other business ventures in his private life.

“He has other ventures and other things,” coach Greg Vanney told reporters. “Nobody that we’ve run into has said it’s a distraction. But in some other cultures, it’s not even an option.”