I played at Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo – when he joined, we weren’t allowed to practise certain technique
ROYSTON DRENTHE has revealed how Real Madrid’s superstars had to stop practising a certain technique when Cristiano Ronaldo joined.
The Dutchman, 36, spent five years at Los Blancos from 2007 to 2012, winning the LaLiga title and Spanish Super Cup.
During the end of his stint with Real Madrid, he had a season-long loan in England with Everton, bagging four goals in 27 games.
And despite Ron’s enormous success, Drenthe has also recently revealed that he would have ex-Toffees ace Ross Barkley rather than the five-time Ballon D’Or winner in his ultimate five-a-side team of players he has shared the pitch with.
Ronaldo smashed almost every record going during his incredible nine-year spell at the Bernabeu and won the Champions League four times.
However, the rest of the squad had to put a stop to trying to copy one of his main assets after he signed from Manchester United.
Drenthe exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “We won the league in my first season at Madrid, and I managed to play a big part in the first-team, too.
“Then, at the end of the next season, we had the summer of huge arrivals, with Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Kaka and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo all coming in.
“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t excited by this – but at the same time, we were Real Madrid players ourselves; we were professionals, we were already a strong side. It was great for them to join up with us, though.
“It’s funny, actually… prior to Ronaldo joining, before we knew that deal was going to happen, quite often after training there’d be myself, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and a few of the other guys, all practising free-kicks.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST SPORTS BETTING APPS IN THE UK
“We always used to pretend to be Ronaldo, and copy that famous pose he used to do before his run-up. The next thing you know, he’s signed for us and we’ve had to stop doing it!”
Drenthe added: “When he [Cristiano Ronaldo] joined, it was crazy. The guy couldn’t go anywhere, he couldn’t do anything, without being pictured, or without crowds of people following him.
“We all experienced it to some extent because, at the end of the day, we were playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but nowhere near the same level as Cristiano had it.
“He had to be so careful off the pitch, it was almost like he could only really be himself when he was with us, on the training ground or in the dressing room.
“He was an incredible guy, though – I loved my time with him. Again, you hear it so often but he really was the ultimate professional. He did the things none of us enjoyed doing, religiously.
“He never cut corners, he set the perfect example. He was a top, top guy, and it’s no surprise he went on to have the career he had and set the records he’s set.”
Drenthe left the Spanish capital 11 years ago and had spells with the likes of Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
He eventually hung up his boots last year – and now wants to be the next James Bond.
He has already started his acting career by landing a role as a gangster in hit Dutch crime drama Mocro Maffia in 2021.
That was after he had tried his hand at rap back in 2017 when he released the track “Paranoia”.