Today's thread is dedicated to the legendary Ruud Gullit.
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This is a daily thread celebrating the greatest Chelsea players in our history so feel free to Follow a fellow Blue #CFC #ChelseaFC

Ruud was born in Amsterdam in 1962 and made his professional football debut aged 16 for @hfchaarlemleeft. He would impress and gain a move to big boys Feyernoord where he would be named Dutch Footballer of the Year. He would score 31 goals from midfield in 85 league apps!

This form earned him a move to Dutch giants, PSV where again, he would be named Dutch Player of the Year. Ruud would score an incredible 46 goals in 48 games and lead PSV to two consecutive Dutch league titles.
Then came the world record transfer to @acmilan in 1987!

Ironically, he was signed to replace Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins at the club. Gullit would claim the Ballon d'Or during his first season and several league titles along the way with the one we all want to win, the Champions League (The European cup at the time as it was known)

A successful spell at Sampdoria would follow but now for the good bit as Ruud would sign for Chelsea in 1995. He was a FREE TRANSFER! Arguably the greatest free transfer of all time at the club! It was the lure of @GlennHoddle which clinched the signature of the legend!

Make no mistake, Chelsea were getting one of the greatest players to ever play football. He was absolutely mesmerising, calm and possessed a great range of passing. He would herald a new era for the Premier League as foreign stars would follow him to the UK from 'bigger' leagues!

During his time as player, Ruud would play sweeper, midfield and even up front. With Gullit and others such as Mark Hughes we can be disappointed not to have mounted a really serious title charge such was the quality we possessed. Ruud would make 48 apps and score 4 goals for us.

I am pleased to say Ruud's Chelsea career did not end there as he was surprisingly named player-manager after Hoddle would leave to manage England. He brought 'Sexy football' to the Bridge and we would win the FA Cup whilst finishing a credible sixth in the league.

Gullit would be sacked the following season following a dispute with then owner, Ken Bates. He would be replaced by the great Gianluca Vialli, who will be profiled tomorrow!

Thank you for taking the time to read this thread dedicated to the legendary Ruud Gullit!
If you enjoyed, please feel free to Like, Retweet and Follow a fellow Blue @GullitR @ChelseaFC
Footage courtesy of @1JamesCHELSEA his Chelsea FC Lookback channel