Former Real Madrid star Royston Drenthe quits football to become a rapper
What’s the story?
Royston Drenthe, the Dutch footballer who once represented Real Madrid in La Liga, has found himself without a club – resulting in him deciding to become a rapper. The 29-year-old, who was once one of the biggest prospects in the world of football, now has launched a career as a rapper with the moniker ‘Roya2Faces’.
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Drenthe rose through the ranks at Feyenoord, where his performances earned him a 14 million move to Real Madrid. The Dutchman – once tipped as a long-term successor to legendary left-back Roberto Carlos, failed to live up to his hype, putting in underwhelming performances. He was farmed out to Hercules and Everton on loan before Madrid let him go in 2012.
Since then, Drenthe has been on a journeyman career – playing with Russian side Alania Vladikavkaz, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Turkish club Kayseri Erciyesspor. His final club was UAE side Baniyas, who have terminated his contract after finding him not up to the club’s standard.
The heart of the matter
Without a club for the last 6 months, Drenthe has now paired with DJ JiandroBeats to produce and release a rap track. The pair built up a lot of hype on Instagram the past week, before launching the song on Wednesday. The single is titled ‘Paranoia’, and has already racked up an impressive 130,000 views on YouTube in a matter of days.
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Drenthe has previous when it comes to a rap career, as he teamed up with Liverpool’s Ryan Babel while at Everton to release a few rap videos. The pair even made appearances on Dutch television showcasing their talents. The reception to this song hasn’t been great, as can be gauged by the comments below the video. You can judge for yourself:
What’s next?
It’s clear that Drenthe’s footballing career is all but over. While most footballers would go into punditry or coaching, Drenthe has a bent for the glamourous world of rap. Judging by his first effort, he has quite a long way to go.
Sportskeeda’s Take
It’s a bit sad to see prodigious talent go downhill. Drenthe could have become one of the top players in the world had his attitude been correct. A middling rap career at the age of 29 is not what many would have predicted for the Dutchman.
It only underlines that talent without hard work goes nowhere.