Despite the early hype that surrounded his Real Madrid move, Drenthe has openly reflected on the distractions that pulled him away from his potential.
He said: "Barcelona wanted me, and Chelsea too, but they wanted me to stay at Feyenoord for a year. I preferred to go straight to Madrid. I knew that playing for Madrid, with legends like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Zinedine Zidane, would be incredible. In Holland, just playing for Madrid made me a legend. In Madrid, the focus was not only on football. I loved life, and partying was a part of it. I was younger, and I didn’t understand that my partying would hurt my career. At 25, I didn’t realise how it would affect me when I was 30. Scoring in my debut felt amazing. I thought I was the king of the world." He also spoke about the vibrant social life in Madrid, where "if you won, you went out to eat, and if you lost, the party still continued".
Now, far from the stadium lights, Drenthe faces a different kind of battle, and those around him do not doubt that the fighter will make a remarkable comeback.