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Real Madrid wonderkid retired at 29 before losing £3.2m and starring on Dutch gangster TV show
Royston Drenthe may not have fulfilled his potential as a footballer, but wasn’t afraid to keep trying in numerous other professions. The one-time Dutch international was long touted as a future superstar having broken through at Feyenoord, becoming a FIFA cult hero along the way. GettyDrenthe played with the best at Madrid but only for three seasons[/caption] Rapid down the left hand side and able to play as a winger or a full-back, it was no surprise to see amateur scouts looking him up on Championship Manager. What was more surprising was that Real Madrid appeared to have done the same, and saw his spectacular attacking displays as the kind of Galactico gloss they’d become accustomed to. Drenthe scored in his first game against Sevilla in the European Super Cup and even with serious defensive doubts looked like he may have a future at the club. However, the emergence of future legend Marcelo curtailed that, and after two seasons rotating in and out of the side he only played 11 times in the 2009/10 campaign. What no one realised was the problems he was dealing with off the pitch, playing for the biggest sports team on the globe after such humble beginnings. “Playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, you feel like a god,” he later revealed. “I started drinking heavily, even though I had to train the next day. I had a step-up contract: in my first year, I earned €1.6million and received a signing bonus of €500,000.” The Rotterdam native did win LaLiga, and even helped down Barcelona in a Clasico under Jose Mourinho, but admitted the pressure was getting to him before that. During a spell out of the side under Juande Ramos, the manager chose to clear up why the uninjured star was out of action. “Drenthe’s suffering from anxiety,” the former Tottenham boss said. Drenthe’s spell saw a LaLiga crown and he certainly played his partGetty “He’s a young lad that needs all the support of the people who work with him. “As his coach I will do all I can to help him because he has a lot of potential.” Drenthe later admitted it was the Madrid fans in particular, as good as sealing his departure. “I don’t like to feel like I am playing at the Nou Camp or another rival’s stadium when I am playing at home,” he told Marca. “When the fans are unhappy you notice it and it makes it harder to perform well.” Loaned out to fellow Spanish side Hercules in 2010, he then came to England and was a regular in stints with Everton, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday. Drenthe was briefly at Everton but couldn’t still hack it in the top flightGetty Images - Getty Drenthe won a title with his local side to end his playing career on a highGetty Yet in 2016 he briefly decided football wasn’t for him, retiring aged 29 to pursue a career in rap, before reversing that decision two years later and returning to local side Sparta Rotterdam. From there Drenthe went to the Netherlands third division with Kozakken Boys, where he declared bankruptcy with debts of £3.2million. He said after a court appearance: “I don’t know the ins and outs and I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but if this is what I think it is, it’s not that important. “I’m always under a magnifying glass, but it will be resolved as it should.” Eventually in 2022 he retired for good aged 35 and has since undergone an extraordinary career outside of football. Rap and music has continued, as has football media and commentary, while he was also signed as a pundit on chaotic Spanish football show El Chiringuito. YouTubeDrenthe has made an impact as a pundit in both Spain and the Netherlands[/caption] Drenthe is staging many careers in retirementGetty YouTubeDrenthe is even an actor back in his homeland[/caption] Drenthe even used his media contacts to have a go at acting, starring in Dutch gangster TV series Mocro Maffia. Now still very successful outside of football, the former wideman was on popular Dutch reality show The Most Dangerous Roads in the World in 2024 when he revealed all about how he went bankrupt. “I have three children with my first wife, aged 15, 14, and four,” he told his co-driver. “Then I fell in love with another woman and had my son with her. I was also married to her. Then I married someone else in 2016. We had two more children with her as well.” On top of all that, he even decided to give back, adding the job as a health care worker to his rather extraordinary CV. “My entire family has always been in care,” he said recently during a TV interview. Drenthe has kept the good vibes going after a career as a great characterGetty He even recently jetted into Feyenoord’s stadium on a zip wireGetty “Aunt Helen is a nurse. My mother and aunt work in healthcare. A few years ago I already thought: ‘Why don’t I also do training and courses and see what that does to me?’” Adding that he was workin
Royston Drenthe may not have fulfilled his potential as a footballer, but wasn’t afraid to keep trying in numerous other professions.
The one-time Dutch international was long touted as a future superstar having broken through at Feyenoord, becoming a FIFA cult hero along the way.
Rapid down the left hand side and able to play as a winger or a full-back, it was no surprise to see amateur scouts looking him up on Championship Manager.
What was more surprising was that Real Madrid appeared to have done the same, and saw his spectacular attacking displays as the kind of Galactico gloss they’d become accustomed to.
Drenthe scored in his first game against Sevilla in the European Super Cup and even with serious defensive doubts looked like he may have a future at the club.
However, the emergence of future legend Marcelo curtailed that, and after two seasons rotating in and out of the side he only played 11 times in the 2009/10 campaign.
What no one realised was the problems he was dealing with off the pitch, playing for the biggest sports team on the globe after such humble beginnings.
“Playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, you feel like a god,” he later revealed.
“I started drinking heavily, even though I had to train the next day. I had a step-up contract: in my first year, I earned €1.6million and received a signing bonus of €500,000.”
The Rotterdam native did win LaLiga, and even helped down Barcelona in a Clasico under Jose Mourinho, but admitted the pressure was getting to him before that.
During a spell out of the side under Juande Ramos, the manager chose to clear up why the uninjured star was out of action.
“Drenthe’s suffering from anxiety,” the former Tottenham boss said.
“He’s a young lad that needs all the support of the people who work with him.
“As his coach I will do all I can to help him because he has a lot of potential.”
Drenthe later admitted it was the Madrid fans in particular, as good as sealing his departure.
“I don’t like to feel like I am playing at the Nou Camp or another rival’s stadium when I am playing at home,” he told Marca.
“When the fans are unhappy you notice it and it makes it harder to perform well.”
Loaned out to fellow Spanish side Hercules in 2010, he then came to England and was a regular in stints with Everton, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
Yet in 2016 he briefly decided football wasn’t for him, retiring aged 29 to pursue a career in rap, before reversing that decision two years later and returning to local side Sparta Rotterdam.
From there Drenthe went to the Netherlands third division with Kozakken Boys, where he declared bankruptcy with debts of £3.2million.
He said after a court appearance: “I don’t know the ins and outs and I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but if this is what I think it is, it’s not that important.
“I’m always under a magnifying glass, but it will be resolved as it should.”
Eventually in 2022 he retired for good aged 35 and has since undergone an extraordinary career outside of football.
Rap and music has continued, as has football media and commentary, while he was also signed as a pundit on chaotic Spanish football show El Chiringuito.
Drenthe even used his media contacts to have a go at acting, starring in Dutch gangster TV series Mocro Maffia.
Now still very successful outside of football, the former wideman was on popular Dutch reality show The Most Dangerous Roads in the World in 2024 when he revealed all about how he went bankrupt.
“I have three children with my first wife, aged 15, 14, and four,” he told his co-driver.
“Then I fell in love with another woman and had my son with her. I was also married to her. Then I married someone else in 2016. We had two more children with her as well.”
On top of all that, he even decided to give back, adding the job as a health care worker to his rather extraordinary CV.
“My entire family has always been in care,” he said recently during a TV interview.
“Aunt Helen is a nurse. My mother and aunt work in healthcare. A few years ago I already thought: ‘Why don’t I also do training and courses and see what that does to me?’”
Adding that he was working in a dementia ward, he said: “There was an old lady who was scaring off the fellow clients. She was a bit aggressive. That’s where I guide.
“Because I see a whole different side of the world, it helps me become a better person in this society.
“I’ve always been used to the glamour in football. I worried a lot at the end of my career.
“The fact that you know what you want to do, but the moment you start something you wonder if this is really what you want.
“I think that’s because I can’t quite let go of football yet. It goes in steps.”
