Ex-Premier League playboy with ‘robust eager for bare ladies’ found fact of fame
The Premier League cult hero couldn’t believe the female attention he used to get during his playing days and it’s safe to say he made the most of it
Everton cult hero Andy Van der Meyde once opened up on how he reacted to suddenly being inundated with “attention from women” when he became a footballer.
The former Netherlands star may have flopped during his four injury-hit years at Goodison Park between 2005 and 2009, after moving to Merseyside from Inter Milan. But he certainly made a big impact off the pitch and did more than his bit to boost Liverpool’s night-time economy, with the married star even admitting that he got “addicted” to bonking a “wild, crazy and horny” stripper.
The midfielder, who was caught red-handed when his wife hired a private investigator, who managed to find raunchy videos of him romping with the X-rated acquaintance, lived up to his reputation for a playboy lifestyle and got himself into a series of high profile scrapes that didn’t impress Blues manager David Moyes.
Van der Meyde later confessed: “I had a strong longing for naked women”. Yet reflecting on how he came to earn the nickname ‘Shandy Andy’, the former Ajax prodigy – who turned 46 at the end of last month – admitted that female attention left him feeling “weird”.
Asked about partying and drinking while he was playing in an apologetic interview with Everton’s official website, Van der Meyde once admitted: “Of course, I liked it.
“You get a lot of attention from women because you are a famous footballer. If I was asked for photos or autographs, I thought, ‘This is weird, man, I am only a footballer, not the president’.
“Then I began thinking, ‘Wow, this is easy’.”
Despite his initial feelings regarding female attention, it was only because of Van der Meyde’s ex-wife that he ended up playing for Everton, after her demands prevented him from joining Monaco instead.
“I wanted to sign for Monaco,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live in 2013. “But my ex-wife likes a lot of animals. I like a dog or something but not what she likes – zebras and all that sort of stuff.
“I phoned my wife and said, ‘Hey, they only have apartments there and you can’t have a zebra in the flat, you’ll have to leave them at home’. That was not her thing and she didn’t want to go there, so we went to rainy Liverpool.”
Having joined Everton for £8.1million, Van der Meyde went on to make just 24 appearances in four seasons, as injuries disrupted his time in England.
He was sent off in his first Merseyside derby in a 3-1 loss at Anfield in March 2006, and in August that year was hospitalised with breathing problems, after it was claimed his drink was spiked at a bar in the city.
He was fined by Everton for breach of discipline, in the same week his house was burgled and his Ferrari, Mini Cooper, and dog was stolen, before the pet was found, alongside the sports car with its windscreen smashed.
The following year he accused Moyes of telling “downright lies” about his fitness, but later apologised, before another fine came for missing training.
His spell with the club saw him fail to score a single goal and make just two assists, with the Ajax academy graduate not making a single appearance during his penultimate season.
However, he did have one shining moment for the Toffees – coming off the bench against Liverpool in an FA Cup fourth round replay in 2009 and setting up Dan Gosling’s famous last minute winner in injury time.
Van der Meyde was then released by Everton that summer and went on to hang up his boots in the summer of 2012. He has remained outspoken since retiring and even claimed that he once had a gay moment with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
According to Van der Meyde, he kissed the Swedish striker while he was asleep on the team bus during their time as team-mates at Ajax.
