At the age of 20, highly rated winger Royston Drenthe was presented as a Real Madrid player alongside Wesley Sneijder.
A pacey customer touted to shine at the Bernabeu after a breakthrough season at Feyenoord, this prodigy was held in high regard by many at Madrid, but his fall from grace typified the downfall of Dutch talent of that era.
Just 11 years after signing for Los Blancos on that memorable day in 2007, Drenthe couldn't find a club following his release from UAE Pro League side Baniyas and retired from the game at the age of 29-years-old.
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He made just 18 appearances for the club.
From Real Madrid to free agent, it's been a rough ride for the player tipped for greatness.
The moment Drenthe burst onto the scene came in June 2007. He starred in Holland U21's win over England at the European Championships alongside the likes of Ryan Babel, Maceo Rigters and Daniel de Ridder - all talented players but it never quite worked out for them, despite heaps of expectation during that era.
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In a five year spell at Real Madrid, Drenthe, who was bought for £11 million months after his European Championship heroics, managed 48 appearances during that time, but loan spells at Hercules and Everton halted his progress at the Bernabeu.
We witnessed glimpses of his true potential during his time in England, scoring three goals in 21 appearances under David Moyes, but it wasn't enough.
His attitude was clearly a problem, and after failing to impress enough to earn a contract at Goodison Park, Drenthe admitted his problems:
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"I used to confront David Moyes, thinking I had the right to talk to him like that. But in hindsight, he was so right about me most times. Now I can't believe I blew it at Everton. It is one of the most fantastic clubs in the Premier League. My attitude and poor mentality are the reasons I ruined my career there.''
After his spell at Everton, the winger joined Russian side FC Spartak Vladikavkaz after his contract expired at Madrid in 2012, but that ended in disaster, making just six appearances in total.
Unsurprisingly, Drenthe returned to England with Reading in 2013, and then joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan in 2014, but neither of those moves worked out.
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Another year, another move and Drenthe managed a move to Turkish side Kayseri Erciyesspor in the 2015 January transfer window. Despite scoring three goals in 11 games, he left the club six months later, joining Abu Dhabi-based side Baniyas Club - and that only lasted a matter of months.
Unbelievably, Drenthe is only 30-years-old at the time of writing. He is now a rapper after declaring he was 'fed up with all the stuff in the football world'
What a story.
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