Drenthe reveals Real Madrid night out after 6-2 Barça defeat
Royston Drenthe has explained to Perform that several Real Madrid players had a nighttime session "because we needed to clear our heads".
Ex-winger Royston Drenthe has recalled going out for a night on the tiles with Real Madrid team-mates to get over a heavy defeat to Barcelona in May 2009.
Drenthe: "We needed to clear our heads"
In one of their most infamous losses ever, Real were thrashed 6-2 at home by a Barça side who went on to seal the treble in Pep Guardiola's first season in charge.
And Drenthe - who had an unsuccessful spell at Los Merengues having joined the club in 2007 as one of Europe's most promising young stars - told Perform: "We went out partying because we needed to clear our heads.
"You can go out, but not if you lose"
"In Madrid, going out is a taboo. You can go out, but not if you lose. The people can't see you out at night after a defeat. But we had a group of young players.
"I won't name any names, but I received a call from a team-mate, saying: 'Roy, let's go'," continued the 29-year-old, who retired earlier this month.
Evening out kept from his wife
Not even his own wife was aware of the night out: "She couldn't know about it, because she knew it was a bad idea to go out after a defeat like that, so I slipped out.
"So that she couldn't hear my car," Drenthe explained, "I coasted down the hill and when I was far [enough] away I turned my car on."