(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Watching Ruud Gullit smile from ear to ear while sharing some hilarious stories from his playing days in Milan with journalists he was meeting for the first time, it was hard to imagine that we were sitting next to one of the greatest midfielders in the history of football.

In Dubai to promote AC Milan and Puma's new golf collection, the former Ballon d'Or winner talks about football as passionately as he played the sport, helping AC Milan achieve near-mythic status in the late 1980s and earning the Netherlands the 1988 Euro crown.

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The 63-year-old, during an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, opened up about the changes in football and Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, the two iconic Argentinians, and Lamine Yamal, the Spanish phenomenon.

Q. You have been visiting Dubai a lot. How impressed have you been with how this city has transformed itself in the last 30 years?

It's incredible. It's an incredible city that I look at every time I come here. It has become such a beautiful place now. They have done some great work, and that's why you see such an amazing city that everybody loves to visit now.

Q. Like Dubai's glorious transformation, football has also changed a lot since you played in the 1980s and 1990s. How do you look at the game now?

The game looks the same tactically; everything is the same. Of course, the game has become faster, and also the physicality of the players is different now. You still see a lot of tall players, especially the Germans; they have a lot of big players. Otherwise, now only the centre-backs, the goalkeepers, and sometimes the strikers are tall, but the rest of them are small and agile; they play in the middle. They are small and fast. So that has changed a little bit, the rest remains the same.

Q. Many years ago, we saw an interview in which you said Diego Maradona was the best player you have ever seen. Do you still have the same opinion?

Yes, he was the best player I ever faced. He was amazing. It's stupid that he not among us anymore. I had the opportunity to play against him. I saw him on the pitch, and he was, for me, also a wonderful person. He had personal issues. But with me, he was always lovely. We always had fun, so sometimes I miss him, it's a pity that is not there anymore.

Q. You were one of the biggest stars of that legendary AC Milan team when the Serie A was the toughest league in the world. The star-studded Juventus and Inter Milan teams were competing with your Milan team for the honours. But Maradona came to Italy and turned everything upside down by leading the modest Napoli to the Serie A title twice in five years. What he did for a small team was incredible...

He was in the right place. I think the south of Italy needed that success, and he gave them that. He was adored, and he did amazing stuff there. So for me, it was an amazing journey to go and play Diego's Napoli and to be able to see it all from close quarters.

Q. Messi is also from Argentina. Were you surprised that a player so similar to Maradona in style would emerge?

You know, there's always something exceptional coming out, and it was another one from Argentina; of course, I did not expect that. But, you know, Diego for me was the best football player I have ever seen. Messi, of course, is also unbelievable to watch. What he did was amazing, and the good thing is, he and Cristiano Ronaldo did so well for so long, and it was fantastic to see.

Q. As you said, there is always a new talent that emerges. Now that big talent seems to be Lamine Yamal. How good is he?

He is fantastic. After Maradona, it was Messi, and now, after Messi, it looks like it's going to be Yamal. He is such a good player. But there is already so much responsibility for him at club level (for Barcelona) and international level (for Spain), and he is still only 18 - too much responsibility for someone so young. They are playing him almost every week. It's hard. They have to give him some rest. Also, they have to get used to his new high status. He also needs to have the time to adjust to that.

Q. Why is the Italian league struggling now? Inter was the last Italian club to win the Champions League (in 2010)...

I think what they are lacking now is money and good players. Now the money is in England, and all the good players go there. So that's the point. I think the Italians can still play very good football, but they have to dig deeper into the grassroots. I say always, for example, look what happened to Barcelona, they were in financial trouble, they had to use the young players, and now see how many good players they have. So you need to do that a little bit more in order to get something out of the new system.

Q. One of the greatest mysteries in football for football fans is the Dutch football team. They have had such beautiful players, such beautiful teams, but their World Cups always end in heartbreak...

Look, we have been close a lot of times at the World Cup, three-time runners-up. Twice we had to play the final against the home team (West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978). In Argentina, it was impossible to win. So we are proud of what we have achieved, because the most important thing is that we have left a mark on football in general, in the way that the Dutch played football, Total Football. We did something really well; we won the European championships in 1988. And don't forget we are a small country. So we are very proud of what we have achieved, and of course, we would love to have the chance of winning the World Cup.

Q. So who are the favourites for the next World Cup in 2026?

Of course, my heart will always say Holland. Spain will be strong. France has a good team as well. So, Holland, Spain, France, and Argentina, of course. Funny that we never speak anymore about Brazil, that's a pity. They have a crisis in their football, and we all hope they come out of that crisis.

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