Former Netherlands winger Royston Drenthe has opened up on his brief spell in the "broken city" of Vladikavkaz, revealing that he was lured to Russia by club bosses who paid visits to his clothing store after he left Real Madrid.
The ex-Feyenoord star spent five years at Madrid before joining troubled Russian second-tier side Alania Vladikavkaz in 2012, two years before the club was dissolved after being financially liquidated.
Drenthe moved to Vladikavkaz after persistent officials visited his store in Amsterdam several times, eventually securing a meeting with him at a hotel opposite the Dutch capital's Central Station to offer a deal that would lead to a turbulent six-month stay in southern Russia.
"Those guys wanted me so badly," Drenthe told Rijnmond, recalling the discussions after he had spent six months out of the professional game following his departure from Madrid. "I had gained a few pounds.
"I had already told them, 'We're not going to do it, don't do it.' But they did come back five times.
“Vladikavkaz was not the perfect place. It's a broken city. You couldn't get much good out of it, even if you had a lot of money."
Drenthe had endured a painful preceding year, becoming embroiled in a row with Barcelona when he accused Lionel Messi of repeated racial abuse and being asked to stay away from loan club Everton after arriving late to training following a leave of absence.
Alania described Drenthe as one of the greatest players ever signed by the club and coach Valery Gazzev lauded his professionalism following his debut in February 2013, while the player called his hat-trick in a relegation battle in April "the icing on the cake" as he thanked them for the care they had shown towards him.
Those goals turned out to be the only ones he scored during a six-match stay in Russia that was curtailed by injuries, and Drenthe also had to adapt to some unusual squad rituals and a lack of suitable hairdressers in the area.
"Believe me, it wasn't good," he said of his struggle to find a barber in Vladikavkaz, eventually heading to Moscow to spend time with other stars who were playing in Russia, including three-time Champions League winner Samuel Eto'o.
"In terms of life experience, it did me good to take that step.
"Life is not always rosy. Vladikavkaz just wasn't perfect."
Drenthe and his pals enjoyed paying visits to a restaurant in the Russian capital that was named after Diego Maradona and run by the owner of English side Reading, leading to a subsequent move to the Championship club.
"The pasta was great there," he said. "The vodka? We drank that too sometimes, yes. Vodka was just a foundation."
Now 33, Drenthe has played for five clubs since being told he could leave Reading after a season, recently signing for a third-tier club in the Netherlands.
Former Europa League qualifiers Alania later reformed as Spartak Vladikavkaz, but the club was dissolved again earlier this year.
