Gullit tells Blues to keep hold of Hazard for Euro glory

RUUD GULLIT insists Chelsea have to keep hold of Eden Hazard this summer if they want to end the dismal record of English clubs in the Champions League in recent years.

With only two semi-final appearances by Premier League clubs in the past five seasons of the Champions League, hopes are high that Antonio Conte’s Chelsea can challenge Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus next season. But former Chelsea manager Gullit says that the drain of the best players to La Liga — which has seen Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez all leave in recent years — will have to be halted if English clubs want to challenge in the Champions League again.

‘The difference is that England has the best coaches but the best players are in Spain,’ said Gullit. ‘The best, the Ronaldos and the Messis, play in Spain. And those players decide what will happen in a game.

‘What are the rumours now about Hazard? If Chelsea could keep him, it would be massive. But if Real Madrid is calling, what would you do?

‘You have to keep him. You need the world-class player. The individual players, they still make the difference.

‘You see it in the Premier League with Alexis Sanchez with Arsenal, with Harry Kane and Dele Alli with Tottenham, you see it with Chelsea with Hazard.

‘Individual players make the difference and that is good for sport because that is why people want to go for matches. That’s what we pay for. We want to see the individual. So you make the tactics so that individual play can flourish.’

Speaking about next week’s FA Cup Final, Gullit said: ‘If Chelsea win next week, that would be an unbelievable achievement by Conte in his first season.

‘But if you had asked about Arsenal a month ago, we would have said: “We love to play Arsenal.” But Arsenal have come back a little bit. They’re back on track and winning games.’

Gullit is part of the BBC team for the FA Cup Final 2017: Chelsea v Arsenal on BBC One, from 16.15. Kick off 17.30.