Former Real Madrid midfielder, Rafael Van der Vaart has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo was ‘crazy’ about former Los Blancos teammate, Royston Drenthe’s abilities.
Drenthe joined Real Madrid from Dutch club Feyenoord back in 2007.
He made only 65 appearances for Real Madrid and eventually left the Spanish La Liga giants permanently in 2012.
However, Van der Vaart, who spent time with Drenthe and Ronaldo in Madrid, has reflected on how the pair used to enjoy facing each other in training.
“I think it is unfortunate that Royston is the best left-back Holland has ever had. If he had put aside his ego and his love for street football, he would have still played for the national team,” Van der Vaart said, as quoted by Sports Klub.
“He enjoyed playing against Cristiano Ronaldo in training. It was a challenge for him. He kept asking ‘Cristiano, who is that?’ Ronaldo was crazy about him in training. Royston was fast, agile and technically outstanding.”
Drenthe, meanwhile, hung up his boots this month at the age of 36.