Ruud Gullit

Gullit got married to Yvonne de Vries in 1984 but the marriage ended seven years later. The couple has two children - Charmayne and Felicity.

In 1994, Gullit married Italian model Cristina Pensa, but this married too lasted six years. They have two children- Quincy and Sheyenne.

He married Estelle Cruyff in 2000 but the marriage ended three years later. The couple has two children - Maxim and Joelle.

Ruud Gullit was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 1 September 1962 to a migrant from Surinam, George Gullit and his mistress Ria Dil. His father was a teacher of economics at a school in their locality while his mother was employed as the custodian at a museum.

He showed a keenness for football right from his early childhood and used to be an enthusiastic street footballer. In 1970, he joined the football team Meerboys and two years later he started playing for Amsterdam Old West.

In 1975 he joined the football club AFC DWS and his exploits for the club brought him to the attention of the famous Dutch youth system and before long he became a part of the youth system. At DWS, he played with some of the future greats of Dutch football.

He became a professional when he joined the Dutch first division club HFC Haarlem in 1978 and made his first appearance at the age of 16. During his three year stint at the club, Gullit helped them to earn promotion back to the Dutch first division after the club was relegated and the following season he was instrumental in taking the club to European competitions when HFC Haarlem finished fourth in the league. He scored 32 goals in 91 appearances for the club. Three years after joining HFC Haarlem, he was for the Dutch national team.

After becoming a major player for HFC Haarlem, Gullit joined Dutch club Feyenoord in 1982 and in his very second season at the club he helped them win the league as well as the league cup. He spent three years at the club and scored 30 goals in 85 appearances in the league. It was at Feyenoord that Gullit started playing as an attacking midfielder.

In 1985, he joined Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and helped the club win two back to back titles, while he himself plundered 46 league goals in those two seasons. He emerged as one of the Europe’s best attacking midfielders during this period and after his two year stint, he moved to Italian club AC Milan, who paid a world record fee for his services.

His 6 year stint at AC Milan started in 1987 and over the next six seasons he became one of the best footballers in the world as he helped the club win three league titles and three European Cup trophies. He scored 35 league goals for the club. A year after joining AC Milan, Gullit led the Dutch national team to the European Championships crown. He scored the first goal in the 2-0 win in the final against the Soviet Union.

The 1990 World Cup in Italy was a disappointment for Gullit as he struggled with a persistent knee injury and could not stop the Netherlands from being knocked out in the second round by Germany. Two years later, the Dutch were one of the fancied teams for the tournament but they were knocked out in the semi finals by Denmark, who went on to win the tournament. Gullit scored 17 goals in 66 appearances for the national team.

Ruud Gullit won the Ballon D’Or in 1987.

He was been included in ‘FIFA 100’, a list of the 100 greatest living footballers compiled by Brazilian legend Pele.

He is the only captain to have lifted a major trophy for the Dutch national team, when he captained the side to the 1988 European Championships title.