Football legend Ruud Gullit: ‘’I would love to be in Harry Kane’s shoes’’

Have you always been passionate about fashion?

”Back in the day, I had my own fashion brand when I lived in England, which was called ‘Ruud’. It unfortunately didn’t last that long. I was never involved in creating my clothing, but I have always found it important to look good.”

What is most important for you when it comes to clothing?

”Comfort is the most important thing to me. I don’t always plan my outfit with the mindset of looking good as long as it’s comfortable. However, the clothes do need to match. I was nurtured by the Italians, so the Italians had a massive influence on the way I look. They still do.” 

What does your life look like now?

”I really enjoy playing golf, so I play that a lot. I am also sponsored by three big brands, one of which is Skechers of course, so I’m also doing a lot with them. I also obviously have my own e-sports team, Team Gullit and I appear a lot on television. In The Netherlands, I am a part of the football program Rondo and in Qatar, I do punditry on beIN Sports. Besides that I also am invited to many things to talk about sport or teambuilding, so there’s quite a lot of stuff to do.” 

You travel a lot, but in which country do you really feel at home?

”I think London is the best city in the world. London is my happy place. I had obviously lived in Italy for 8 years, but I wasn’t really able to go outside there. The fans were very passionate so it was tough to go to a restaurant and enjoy a relaxed evening. When I came to London I also found that peace again. Nobody was following me. It felt so nice. I remember going to the cinema for the first time in London and the fact I could do that was crazy. I couldn’t do that in Italy.” 

”Besides that, London is a fantastic city. You have culture, restaurants, sports, and nightlife. You got everything and it’s only a 45-minute flight from Amsterdam.” 

So you weren’t a big fan of Italy?

”No, I adore Italy. It made me the person I am today and it taught me so much. Everything that has to do with beauty, Italy teaches you. Delicious food, beautiful clothes, cars, holidays, the language. Italy made me who I am and it’s a beautiful country.” 

You’ve had a lot of success in your football career. What does success mean to you outside of football?

”Being happy is obviously the most important thing. Being pleased with the people around me is the luxury life I desire. I don’t care about the things I own, as long as I have good people around me.” 

If you could spend one day in someone else’s shoes, who would that be?

”I feel a bit bad for Harry Kane. He’s never won a big trophy, but he is always the top scorer. So I would love to be in his shoes one day, just so that I could give him that trophy he deserves. I would love that for him.” 

Why did you partner with Skechers?

”Comfort is very important to me and if you have a footwear brand that combines comfort with modern elements, the choice is easily made. There are many shoes, and particularly women might recognize the problem, which look great but which are uncomfortable on the foot. So what do you do then? Do you pick comfort or whatever looks best? Luckily, Skechers offers the perfect combination.” 

Skechers also produces football boots and hosts other ambassadors such as Harry Kane and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Was this an important factor for you?

”I recently visited Skechers in Los Angeles where I could see the football boots and I immediately was trying to imagine whether I would wear them if I was still playing now. I know from when I was younger that no shoe fits the same, even if it’s the same model. So I always tried on three different pairs from the same model and always with white socks. From that moment on you kind of built a relationship with your shoes. You need to get the feeling that you are going to dominate in these shoes. Skechers gives me this feeling and there were plenty of models which I would want to wear.” 

What about Skechers’ golf shoes?

”Yes, that’s another big plus. It was actually even more important to me. At the end of September, I will be playing in a tournament in Scotland and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the event of the year for amateur golfers and it will even be shown on TV. So not only do I want to wear beautiful shoes to show the world, but I also have to wear comfortable shoes because I could be on the course for five and a half hours.” 

If you could leave a message to anyone who is starting a new chapter in life, what would that be?

”Just be yourself and put your shoulders to the wheel. That’s all you have to do. Life has many ups and downs and you’ll be most thankful for the downs later on in life.”