BBC NEWS: “What a waste of talent,” Reading FC’s Royston Drenthe said.
Drenthe was considered the next big thing in Dutch football as a youngster coming through the ranks at Feyenoord. He joined Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2007 at 20-years-old, but failed to become a regular at the Bernabeu. He went on loan to Premier League side Everton before permanently moving to Russian outfit Alania in 2012.
The left-winger returned to English football in June 2013, joining the Royals as they sought to fight for the Championship title after being relegated from the Premier League the previous season.
Drenthe was a blockbuster acquisition for Reading owing to his status as a highly-rated prospect in previous years, but he failed to live up to the expectations at the Madejski Stadium and only played one season for the Royals as they failed to regain promotion to the top flight.
Royston Drenthe failed to meet Reading’s expectations.
Drenthe became known for his eccentric lifestyle off the pitch and poor attitude toward training during his time at Madrid and Everton, but his signing was still a huge coup for Reading as they sought to return to the top flight, and he insisted upon arrival that he was ready to “prove (himself) again” in England.
In his first season with the Royals, the then-26-year-old was inconsistent, making only 17 league starts in 24 appearances before being loaned to Sheffield Wednesday in July 2014.
FLW’s Reading fan analyst Johnny Hunt named Drenthe as the most famous player who arrived with much fanfare but eventually under-performed at Madejski Stadium.
“We’ve brought in players with a lot of hype or for a lot of money in recent times; George Puscas and Sone Aluko (for example),” said Johnny to FLW.
“I’d choose Royston Drenthe based only on his name and playing background.
“He joined us in 2013 as an ex-Real Madrid and Everton player, as well as an ex-Dutch wonderkid, and it was like ‘wow’ because there aren’t many ex-Real Madrid players at Reading.”
“We were all thinking he must be good, but I believe we quickly realized that there was a lot of buzz but little substance to his performances.
“I believe his lifestyle and a few other factors meant that football was not the most important thing for him.
“(He was) a lovely guy, very friendly, but he just didn’t cut it and became one of these cult figures who didn’t do much.”
“I suppose how his career panned out from there proved what a waste of talent it was, because he had clear ability when he was younger.”
Drenthe’s career never achieved its full potential.
Drenthe probably wondered how he had ended up in the second tier of English football so quickly after being regarded as one of the world’s best upcoming talents, but it was really testament to his lack of consistent effort at each club, which continued at Reading and then at Wednesday, where he lasted only six months before a permanent move to Turkish side Kayseri Erciyesspor.
| Royston Drenthe’s Reading statistics | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 24 |
| Starts | 17 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Stats as per Transfermarkt | |
The Dutchman later played for Baniyas Club in the UAE Pro League before returning to his home country to play for Sparta Rotterdam and Kozakken Boys, as well as Racing Murcia and Real Murcia in Spain’s lower levels.
After leaving Reading in 2013, he struggled to live up to the hype surrounding his signing. His career ended in November last year after another spell at Dutch amateur club Kozakken.
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