Royston Drenthe's time at Everton is already the stuff of legend - and now it has emerged he was a nightmare tenant during his time on Merseyside with the Blues
Ryan Babel of Liverpool playing at Anfield in 2007
Ryan Babel spent four years at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
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Royston Drenthe's spell at Everton is already shrouded in infamy. But he now has a fresh chapter added to his Blues tale - allegations he constructed a nightclub inside the house of a former Liverpool star.
Ryan Babel revealed he let his property to the ex-Real Madrid ace whilst he was on loan with Everton and, upon disclosing his intentions to sell the house, jested his fellow Dutch international became a tenant from hell.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Babel revealed: "The time has come to pass it on to its next lucky owner. This house holds so many memories... it was the first place I moved into after leaving my parents' home, full of excitement, mistakes, and lessons.
"When I left Liverpool, I rented it out to a few tenants... one of them being my good old Dutch teammate Royston Drenthe. Let's just say he gave "tenant from hell" a new meaning."
Amongst the accusations levelled at Drenthe were that he built a club inside the property without Babel's consent. Within the post, he declared: "You can't make this stuff up."
Drenthe's period with the Blues has become legendary for all the wrong reasons, with his party-loving ways having long been a source of eye-rolling and tales from frustrated teammates.
The most infamous claim made against Drenthe was that he tried to gain entry to the hot tub at Everton's Finch Farm training facility in the small hours for his own enjoyment. Reflecting on Royston Drenthe's time at Everton, former goalkeeper Tim Howard said in 2021: "We're Everton, rolled sleeves up, worker bees.
"In comes Royston in Rolls-Royces to training, bowls in with his shoes untied, he has to run the perimeter of the training ground because he's always late, his eyes were half open... you were just at Real Madrid, what are you doing here? This is weird.
Royston Drenthe once allegedly held a steamy hot-tub session at Everton's training ground at 2am
Royston Drenthe once allegedly held a steamy hot-tub session at Everton's training ground at 2am
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"I guess he'd never heard of CCTV and he ended up coming to the training ground in the middle of the night with friends, and they're in the hot tub... you're just thinking: 'You're at the wrong club here mate'."
Phil Jagielka, who was the club captain during Drenthe's loan spell, shared his own thoughts last year on the BBC's Kyle Walker podcast: "[It is tough when] you either get a bad period, or when people start doubting, or you get a rogue player who doesn't want to be on time."
When asked for an example, he responded: "The easiest one is Royston Drenthe. We've all heard stories about him. When someone wants to come to the training ground at 2am to use the jacuzzi for the wrong reasons...The funny thing was he was so miles off it, it was nothing to do with me."
Drenthe's stint at Everton occurred during David Moyes' first term as manager, when he joined on loan from Madrid for the 2011/12 season. He initially made a strong impression, with a spectacular strike against Fulham serving as an early standout moment.
However, the relationship deteriorated and the following April he was omitted from the FA Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool due to disciplinary concerns. Drenthe has previously discussed his Everton spell - including the infamous hot tub incident.
Photo of footballer Royston Drenthe raising his arms in exasperation during a football game
Royston Drenthe made 27 appearances for Everton
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Speaking in 2023, he explained: "The real story ended up being blown up massively and turned into something which wasn't true. Yes, I went to Finch Farm in the early hours, but only ever with friends and family who were coming over to see me. I didn't see anything wrong with it at all."
However, looking back, the player - who later had spells in Russia before further stints in England - acknowledged his behaviour was inappropriate.
Drenthe, who eventually returned to the Netherlands before hanging up his boots, continued: "A lot has been made in the past of my time at the club, and the kind of character I was when I joined, and people know all about my relationship with David Moyes - especially while I was a player at Goodison Park.
"I think back now with a completely different mindset, though. As a 36-year-old, I can understand and appreciate the job he was doing and how I thought back when I was 25 perhaps wasn't always right.
"Back then, I was firmly of the belief that Moyes was simply out to prove to the other players that he could get under my skin. We'd argue and I'd just think: 'What the f***?' 'Is he taking the p***?'.
"And while there are certain occasions where I can say I still feel I was in the right, on the whole I'd say he was. Ultimately, he wanted to get the best out of me as a player, he wanted to help me, I just couldn't see that at the time. But people change, and I can look back now a lot older and wiser, and I can understand why he did what he did with me."
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