Dutch left-sided midfielder Royston Drenthe looks set to leave the Bernabeu this summer after a torrid second season in La Liga with reports on the continent claiming Greek side Panathinaikos lead the chase for a player previously linked with Barcelona, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
The 22-year-old was signed by the Spanish giants in the aftermath of Holland’s success in the 2007 Under-21 European Championships where excelled dovetailing with former Ajax man Ryan Babel. Voted the Best Player in the tournament by UEFA, the youngster swapped Feyenoord for Real for a fee in excess of €14m.
Despite making a bright start to his time in La Liga, Drenthe found himself sidelined by departed manager Bernd Schuster and contemplated a loan move before the 2008-2009 season began. Under Juande Ramos, the Dutch starlet saw more playing time but his performances have come in for harsh criticism from the highly-critical Los Merengues faithful.
Drenthe was whistled throughout Real Madrid’s victory over Deportivo La Coruna at the turn of the year and despite putting on a brave face for the media he made clear the situation was tough to deal with:
“It’s very hard,” the Dutchman revealed. "Every day when I come home, I think about what is happening to me because I want to give more to Real Madrid. Now I am very sad and I know that these are things of football, I must be strong.”
Updating the media on the Drenthe situation in February Juande Ramos added, “Drenthe is affected by anxiety. He is a very young lad and needs the support and affection of the people. As a coach I am ready to help in any way possible because he is a player with great potential.”
Having featured only fleetingly during the second half of the season, it is widely believed that Drenthe’s time with Real will coincide with a mass clearout under new president Florentino Perez.
Asked this week whether he was worried about his status, Drenthe told local media:
“I don’t want to think about what will happen with me at Madrid at the moment. I’m going on my holiday and we’ll see what happens when I return.”