The former Real Madrid star celebrated with Guti and Wesley Sneijder during his time in Spain, but soon saw his career go in the opposite direction.
The 35-year-old helped Los Blancos win the La Liga title in 2008, but after loan spells at Hercules and Everton he found himself redundant in the squad. After his contract at Madrid expired in 2012, the Dutchman signed for newly promoted Russian side Alania Vladikavkaz.
Royston Drenthe played with players like Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid
While the move was good financially, Drenthe soon became disillusioned with life in Russia. Located close to the border with Georgia, Vladikavkaz lacked the facilities that Drenthe required.
In a 2020 interview with the Dutch medium RTV, he said: “Vladikavkaz was not the ideal place.”
“It is a totally destroyed city. You can’t do anything fun, despite having a lot of money.”
He went on to say that he felt his six months there were “unforgettable”.
One thing he did remember is that he drank a lot of vodka.
“Vodka… We drank it very often, it was one of the mainstays. In that perspective, it wasn’t hard to learn. Also, we had vodka on the team bus. It is like that in Russia”, he stressed.
Former Drenthe team-mate Cicinho revealed he drank ten beers a day at Real Madrid and even went to training drunk. Drenthe played just six games for Alania, scoring three goals, before returning to England with Reading.
Drenthe went on to play for Reading
The one-capped Dutch international, now of Real Murcia, has fond memories of nights out with his former Madrid team-mates.
“I spent many beautiful nights with Guti. We often hung out with Wesley Sneijder, Robinho and Gonzalo Higuain. Wesley and I were very close and could cross the red line at times. And there were times when Higuain joined us”, he revealed further.
Drenthe was declared bankrupt two years ago after losing his fortune of four million euros