Royston Ricky Drenthe was born on the 8th of April 1987 in Rotterdam and joined local side Feyenoord's youth system at the age of 13, playing mainly as a winger during his junior years. After disciplinary issues during a trip to Switzerland with the B-side, coach Marcel Bout wanted him to leave the club, but the issues were resolved after the intervention of the club's director of football, Rob Baan. Bout hardly used Drenthe in his subsequent lineups and, at the end of the season, the 16-year-old was named as one of eleven players whose future at the club was questionable. He eventually moved to the Feyenoord feeder club Excelsior where he improved during the two years he played there, with manager Marco van Lochem successfully playing him as a left back. After impressing his former side's coaching staff, he was asked to rejoin the club, which he accepted, and in the 2005-06 season he was promoted to Feyenoord's first team, managed by his former youth coach Henk Fraser. After scoring three goals against Ajax in the Otten Cup youth tournament he began training with the main squad, while still appearing for the reserves. In the same week where he helped his club to a 5–1 win at Ajax with the second team, he was offered a professional contract at Feyenoord. Manager Erwin Koeman handed him his Eredivisie debut against Vitesse at the Gelredome, and Royston finished the season with three matches. In 2006-07 their new signing, the Belgian veteran Philippe Leonard was injured and Royston became first-choice as Feyenoord finished seventh in the league.
He then burst onto the world scene starring for Holland at the 2007 Under-21 Euros which they went onto win as he was named the best player of the tournament. From there he sealed a dream move to giants Real Madrid at the age of 20 years old for a hefty £12 million after he threatened to take his club to court if they did not want to let him go. It was Ronaldo's move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 that marked a pivotal moment in football history. During training sessions, Royston, now a versatile Netherlands international, posed a unique challenge to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Van der Vaart, who also played for Real Madrid, shared insights into the memorable duels between Ronaldo and Drenthe, stating, "He liked to play against Cristiano Ronaldo in training. He found that to be a challenge. Cristiano started running down the left wing because he no longer knew what to do with Drenthe." So Ronaldo, who typically dominated the right flank, was forced to adapt his approach due to Drenthe's defensive prowess. The Dutch full-back's speed, agility, and technical abilities left Ronaldo befuddled, prompting the tactical shift to the left wing during training sessions. Despite showing promise though, Drenthe never fully realized his potential. Van der Vaart expressed regret about Drenthe's unfulfilled potential, describing him as 'the best left-back the Netherlands has ever had'. Royston says, "It was my dream to walk into the Real Madrid dressing room, I will never forget that. But you have a life as a footballer and a life as a human being. You can mix that up to a point, but I didn't see the need to change my lifestyle right away. Now I am aware that I didn't do the right thing, that I made mistakes. I wasn't ready to be a pro. I thought I was God, loved women and to party too much and you can't combine that with football. I learn something new every time, but what happened, happened. I went from living with my mum in a small house to living in a chalet worth millions. Life changes you completely and sometimes it's not easy to take it all in."
In a five year spell at Real Madrid, he managed 48 appearances, but loan spells at Hercules and Everton halted his progress at the Bernabeu. We witnessed glimpses of his true potential during his time in England, scoring three goals in 21 appearances under David Moyes at Everton, but it wasn't enough. An alleged after-hours, alcohol-fueled incident at Finch Farm, allegedly involving women in a hot-tub, was his first significant transgression and it caused friction that eventually led to him being dropped from the squad altogether on the day of the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool. His attitude was clearly a problem, and after failing to impress enough to earn a contract at Goodison Park, Drenthe admitted his problems: "I used to confront David Moyes, thinking I had the right to talk to him like that. But in hindsight, he was so right about me most times." he told reporters. "Now I can't believe I blew it at Everton. It is one of the most fantastic clubs in the Premier League. My attitude and poor mentality are the reasons I ruined my career there.'' After his spell at Everton, the winger joined Russian side FC Spartak Vladikavkaz after his contract expired at Madrid in 2012, but that ended in disaster, making just six appearances in total. Unsurprisingly he returned to England with Reading in 2013, and then joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan in 2014, but neither of those moves worked out. Another year, another move and he managed a move to Turkish side Kayseri Erciyesspor in the 2015 January transfer window. Despite scoring three goals in 11 games, he left the club six months later, joining Abu Dhabi-based side Baniyas Club - and lasted only a matter of months.
"I've had good moments and bad moments. But I don't look back with regret. Could I have done things differently? Well, yes. But that's life, you have to carry on." Drenthe told MARCA in a recent interview. "[I retired] because I wasn't happy. I was tired, depressed, hopeless... It didn't make me happy playing professional football, I didn't like that world. Bad things happened to me and I was playing in the Emirates, one day I just said that's enough, I quit. I had problems with agents, with people who tried to get close to me... I don't want to give names but in football there are a lot of people who aren't honest. I signed things and then they would pay me something completely different, always a lot less than we had discussed. What happened there? Well, you can imagine, you know how these things go. I love football, it's been my life... But the people around football aren't always good. That's why now I play to enjoy myself with my friends."
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/05/footballs-nearly-men-anthony-le-tallec.html
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