Ruud Gullit is still sore about his departure from Chelsea and says that being sacked by the club left him feeling "embarrassed".
The legendary Dutch midfielder initially joined Chelsea as a player from Italian outfit Sampdoria in 1995, bringing instant panache to the Blues midfield and standing out in the Premier League.
Gullit was handed the reins as player-manager at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1996 following the departure of Glenn Hoddle, who took the England job.
He led the Blues to FA Cup glory in 1997, winning the club's first major trophy in 26 years. The Dutchman was sacked following a dispute over his contract in 1998, departing with Chelsea going on to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the League Cup; Gullit's final playing appearance came in the first leg of the competition's semi-final.
Gullit is still unhappy with how it ended at Chelsea and in the way things worked out with then Chelsea chairman Ken Bates.
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"Bates told the media that I asked for too much money", he told Voetbal International.
"But we never negotiated about it.
"It is always the way that you make a proposal, after which there is a counter-proposal. That did not happen.
"What I heard for some time was that I was standing in the way of certain transfers.
"They came up with players I did not want, because they did not fit in with Chelsea, such as Chris Sutton. There was much confusion at board level.
"The way I had to go, I felt embarrassed."
Gullit soon bounced back into management when he took over at Newcastle United in 1998, but a falling out with the club's star striker Alan Shearer helped scupper his stay at St. James' Park.
