Ruud Gullit doesn't soften his takes. Speaking to MrRaffle from a sunny golf club, the Ballon d'Or winner walked us through the Champions League semi-finals, picked his Premier League title winner, and didn't pull a single punch on Chelsea's "philosophy" — or lack of one. Edited transcript below.
On the Champions League final
Ruud, thank you for joining us. How are you?
Very well. I'm outside at the golf club — beautiful weather, as you can see.
You said recently you'd fallen out of love with football because of the tactics. After the first leg of the Champions League semis, are you back in love?
Oh, boy. We had one fantastic game. One. The crazy 5-4 between PSG and Bayern last week. Name me other games. The thing is, when I said it, it had more to do with what I saw in Holland. The level there has dropped a little bit — most players who play for the national team play abroad. And the second leg of Arsenal against Atlético, for a neutral, was not pleasant to watch. Even yesterday's PSG and Bayern was all very tactical. That's understandable, because you can go to a final so you don't want to make any mistakes.
Unfortunately, this game is a game of mistakes. The better the level, the fewer mistakes there are — and the worse the game is.
Arsenal vs PSG in the semis last year, and now this is a one-off final. Does that give Arsenal an advantage?
No, no, no, no. Paris Saint-Germain are still the favourites. The way they played yesterday was outstanding tactically. Physically, they are top of the bill at the moment. They don't give the opposition any easy build-up — they press immediately. And all their great players are willing to work hard. That's a fantastic combination.
How much will Arsenal miss Jurriën Timber if he isn't fit?
They'll miss him, but Ben White did really well against Atlético. With Timber you have much more going forward, but defensively White did really, really well. He'll be up against Kvaratskhelia though, who looked amazing yesterday. When he was at Napoli, he'd do something brilliant and then just walk around. Now he's running back like crazy, working really hard. That makes him a complete footballer. I like him very much.
On the World Cup and the Dutch squad
The World Cup is less than 40 days away. Which Dutch players should we watch?
Cody Gakpo has something to prove — he always does well with the national team, scores a lot of goals. Donyell Malen is doing well at Roma, scoring a lot. Tijjani Reijnders has had an on-and-off season — he'll want to prove himself. Jorrel Hato has been seeing a lot more action at Chelsea, played really well at left back. That's always been a so-so position for us, so it's good to have someone who can do that job.
What's the feeling back in the Netherlands?
I think we have a chance. We've been beaten twice in semi-finals — once on penalties, once by England in the last minutes. So we are close. Some players may be playing in their last tournament, so for them it's the last opportunity. We have a good team. I hope they grab it with both hands this time.
Could Messi take a ninth Ballon d'Or if Argentina go back-to-back?
If Messi is influential, of course. But that's what Ronaldo wants too — and Portugal have a good team. It's tough to pinpoint. For me France, Spain and Argentina are still the favourites. My dark horses are Holland and Portugal.
Will anyone — Yamal or someone else — ever come close to the number Messi and Ronaldo have won?
It depends on how you perform at the World Cup. Yamal can't win the Champions League this time, so he needs to excel at the World Cup. Who else from the Champions League final comes close? Dembélé, who's already won it. But for me one of the best is Vitinha. Unbelievable player. The engine of that midfield. He could be fantastic at the World Cup as well.
Hopefully Yamal will be fit — his hamstring has been a problem.
Lots of players have something to prove. Mbappé too — not a great season with Real Madrid. He'd like to show how good he is, because he is fantastic, and he already has a World Cup to his name.
On Real Madrid, dressing-room rows and Manchester United
There's a story today about a fight between Tchouaméni and Fede Valverde.
That's normal. Come on. In my day, every week there was something going on. I don't care about that — it has to happen. You need to get rid of your frustration.
In a team, you don't have to like each other. You can dislike someone, but you have to respect them because they're an important asset. Conflict will always come. It must.
Manchester United are rumoured to be interested in Tchouaméni. Could the chaos help them get their man?
I don't know. Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world. Nobody refuses Real Madrid. To leave Real Madrid, there's only one reason — if they tell you we're signing someone else and you're going in a different direction. But you don't leave just because you want to. It doesn't happen.
Manchester United do look in much better shape than six months ago.
Yes. They look like a team that's having fun with each other now. Before, it looked very pragmatic — like they had to think before doing anything. Now you can see they're enjoying themselves. That's the difference.
We need a strong Manchester United for the Premier League.
Yes! And we need Tottenham to stay in the Premier League. We need that too.
Is Roberto De Zerbi the man to keep Spurs up?
He's done pretty well so far. Sometimes when the going gets tough, something better comes out of it. I hope they stay.
On Chelsea's missing philosophy
We have to talk about Chelsea. Terrible run of form.
Oh yes. I've said so many times — I can't figure out what the plan is. What is your plan? Maybe I'm wrong, but what I see is: they get a bunch of the best young players, and the coach who comes in has to deal with what's there. The incoming coach has no input on which players come in.
They have great players, but they need experienced players. Experienced players teach you things, especially in training — they tell you what to do, what not to do, what to avoid. There's nobody at Chelsea correcting that. Nobody to say, "Hey, this is wrong." And now you can already see that players want to leave. They feel "I want to win trophies," and the way things are going, that doesn't seem to be happening. The club needs to do something.
Maybe they need to come out with a statement about their philosophy so people can understand it. The fans want trophies. They've come from two Champions League wins. The fans won't accept this. If you're part of the elite of Europe, it can't be like this. Something needs to change.
Is there a danger that elite managers now have second thoughts about going to Chelsea?
Yes, because any manager would see what I see and say, "I need experienced players — I need a Casemiro, a Tchouaméni. I need this experience alongside the young talent." If you don't have them, it's a problem. Look at Paris Saint-Germain — young players, but also a lot of experience. Those experienced players tell the young ones what to do. That's how they flourish.
That's what Moisés Caicedo needs — someone like Casemiro next to him to guide him. To say, "Calm down. Do it this way." That happens in training sessions.
Could Chelsea miss out on Europe entirely and end up in a relegation fight like Spurs?
I hope not. I want Chelsea to be successful. The only thing is — for a couple of years now, I haven't really understood their philosophy. Maybe they need to come out and explain it. But the fans want trophies. They won't accept anything less.
Some players have come out of this season with credit. João Pedro, for example.
Every time a player comes through, it looks like they then want to get out of there. You don't want that.
He's been linked with Barcelona. Could you see that move?
Barcelona have very good players. But put them all together and it's difficult — they're young, inexperienced. You need experienced players around them.
What about Cesc Fàbregas as a manager? Players might respect him from his playing days.
We thought the same thing about Xabi Alonso. Look how successfully he managed in Germany — and suddenly everyone said, "Oh, he could do it anywhere." It's not the same.
The only thing certain for a manager is that he gets fired.
You have to learn to adapt to the club's philosophy. Does it match yours? Do you get the players you need? Pep Guardiola got all the players he wanted. That's why he's been successful. Tell Pep "deal with what we give you," he wouldn't come. Mourinho wouldn't come. Klopp wouldn't come. Ancelotti wouldn't come. These are people who know exactly what the right formula is.
On Liverpool after Jota
Arne Slot — not the greatest season. Has he earned another year or two?
I think they need to give him another year. The whole situation with Jota hung over that club the entire time. Everybody deals with grief differently. Some need much more time. That feeling — that missing — will stay for a long, long time.
Can you imagine the new players coming into an environment like that? It's difficult. I've been at a club where there was a death, and there's a certain energy everywhere. You can feel it. Like a cloud. A numbness. You don't know how to deal with it. Liverpool need time to heal. I believe that will happen after this season.
Could Mo Salah leaving actually help Slot — remove a distraction?
I don't know. Salah is not the same Salah as last year. He was a very close friend to Jota — very close. Something also changed with the new recruits and the way the team played in relation to him. He was out of his comfort zone on a lot of issues. I hope Salah finds his mojo again. Whether that's at Liverpool, I don't know. But if he finds it, the best place is for him to stay there.
Same for Virgil van Dijk? One year left on his contract.
They're already recruiting young defenders, but his experience is important. I've been the most critical of him — and he doesn't like being criticised. That's his ego. And that's not a bad thing. But he didn't play well. The last couple of weeks he was much better, and maybe some of that was connected to the Jota situation.
What I always want to hear from him is: he points the finger at others when something goes wrong. I just want to know what he thinks of his own performance. Not "the team has to do this or that." Have a look at yourself. Could you do better? Are you happy with it? Because I think he's a great defender — but he hasn't always shown it.
On Newcastle and Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe must feel fortunate to be getting another season.
He's done well. He also expected certain players to come in — they didn't, because of PSR. Going up the mountain is easy. Staying on the mountain is the most difficult part. The expectations are bigger. To stay competitive, you need to bring in players who push the existing ones to give 100%. That didn't happen.
Now there's a danger they lose Anthony Gordon in the summer. You can't blame Howe for that. He's a great coach. He's done very good things at that club.
On Pep, Maresca and the build-up myth
Rumours say Enzo Maresca will replace Pep Guardiola if he leaves. Is that a big "if"?
You have to give Pep credit — he created a whole new team and it went through ups and downs, but he's still competing for the title. Right there. Fantastic coach.
The funniest thing is, everyone who stole Pep's ideas is doing well. Mikel Arteta stole everything from him.
He instilled that build-up from the back — that's how he won everything. But then people try to mimic it with players who can't do it. How many defenders did Pep buy specifically to play that way? A lot. So if you don't have those players, don't do it. Every time I see clubs say, "This is our philosophy" — no, this was Pep's philosophy. Every time I see teams trying to play out from the back, at the most vital moments of the season, they're losing points because of it.
We've seen it multiple times.
What was the greatest game of recent times? Bayern Munich against PSG. Was there build-up from the back? No. Every goalkeeper just hit the ball forward. I hope coaches see that. The greatest game of all, no build-up. Then what did Bayern try to do yesterday? A build-up. Didn't work. PSG just kicked it long every time. The goalkeeper — boom, same side, all the time.
The best team in the tournament right now doesn't even play with a build-up.
Predictions
Quick predictions before we let you go. Who wins the Champions League final?
2-0 Paris Saint-Germain.
Premier League — Arsenal or Man City?
Arsenal got a huge boost when City dropped points against Everton. A lot of positive energy out of that. City still have a game in hand, but they need Arsenal to drop points.
Arsenal play West Ham and Crystal Palace away with Burnley at home in between.
Crystal Palace away — that could be tricky. Though Palace are still in Europe, so maybe they'll rest players.
FA Cup final — do you give Chelsea a chance?
I hope so — I want Chelsea to win. It's going to be tough. They may have to adjust their tactics because they're playing against a team that knows how to do it.
Marcel Desailly said Chelsea should sign Darwin Núñez. Could you see him leading the line?
No. No, no, no. Let's start from the back. You need a good centre-half, a good experienced central midfielder, and a goalkeeper. Three good players with experience. That's what a squad like Chelsea's needs first.
And if Chelsea came and asked for your advice, would you be interested, Ruud?
I don't think that will happen — they do things their own way. They don't need me. But you never know. Knowledge goes a long way.
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