CRUYFF KIDNAPPING

DUTCH master Johan Cruyff – known for his legendary “turn” – led the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final and four years later was expected to help them lift the trophy at the tournament in Argentina.

But the striker baffled football fans by missing the competition and, without him, the Dutch lost 3-1 to the hosts in the final.

It was only years later that the Barcelona ace revealed the harrowing experience that made him opt out.

In 1977 he and his family had been held at gunpoint by seven men in an attempted kidnapping.

He recalled: “I had a rifle at my head, I was tied up, my wife tied up…”

Cruyff, who died aged 68 in 2016, never revealed exactly how – but the family managed to escape.

Yet the Dutch star was then so worried about a repeat attack that he decided not to play at the tournament, explaining: “There are moments when there are other values in life.”