Drenthe: Going to Real Madrid made me a legend in the Netherlands. I didn’t know nightclubs were so harmful at the time

Real Madrid’s former player Drenthe suffered a stroke on October 20 and is currently undergoing an intensive rehabilitation process. Drenthe stunned European football when he debuted. He joined Real Madrid in 2007, but he only made 65 appearances in five years. The 38-year-old Drenthe said that his lack of self-discipline off the court destroyed him.

He said: "Both Barcelona and Chelsea wanted me at the time, but they wanted me to stay at Feyenoord for another year, and I would have preferred to go directly to Real Madrid. That way I could play with legendary stars like Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Zidane, which would be great. In the Netherlands, just joining Real Madrid made me a legend.

"But in Madrid, life is more than football. I love life and I love night parties. I was young and didn't understand that this lifestyle would hurt my career. What I obviously didn't realize at 25 was the impact this would have on me at 30.

"The feeling of scoring on my debut was so great, I even felt like I was number one in the world. But in Madrid, if you win, you go out for a meal; even if you lose, the party goes on as usual."