What happened to former FC Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert?

In his prime, Patrick Kluivert was one of the best strikers in the world, scoring many goals at club and international level. The Dutchman is still remembered by many and has an interesting history.

Kluivert was born on 1 July 1976 in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

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He soon ended up in the Ajax youth academy, where he became a member of the first team.

Kluivert made his debut in August 1994 in the Dutch Super Cup against Ajax rivals Feyenoord. He was only 18 at the time, but scored his first goal in a 3-0 win.

That same season, Kluivert would go on to win his first Dutch league title with Ajax, scoring 18 goals in the Eredivisie, according to Transfermarkt.

This would be the run-up to perhaps the most important goal of his career, when he scored the decider in the 1994/95 Champions League final against AC Milan.

The following season, Kluivert won several trophies with Ajax, but missed out on the biggest prize of all when he lost the Champions League final to Juventus after a penalty shoot-out (2-4).

Kluivert's performances in Amsterdam did not go unnoticed, and AC Milan signed the striker on a free transfer in 1997.

His stay in Italy, however, was short-lived, as a year later he was on his way to Barcelona to play again under Louis van Gaal.

In his first season in the Catalan capital, Kluivert helped Barça to the Spanish title with 15 goals and 14 assists in the league according to Transfermarkt.

It would be the only trophy with Barça for Kluivert, who nevertheless built an impressive goalscoring record at the Camp Nou. In 257 games for Barcelona, he scored 122 goals, as stated by Transfermarkt.

His Barcelona adventure ended in 2004 with a move to Newcastle United. Kluivert netted 13 goals for the Magpies that season, but was released after the season.

In July 2005, it was Valencia CF who gave Kluivert the opportunity to relaunch his career in his beloved Spain, where he had already proven himself to be a fearsome striker.

Injuries prevented Kluivert from having the desired impact at Mestalla, however, and he left after just one season. Next stop: PSV Eindhoven.

He also failed to make a mark in the Netherlands, so he ventured south to LOSC Lille in France, where he scored four goals.

After one season with Les Dogues, Kluivert ended his 14-year career.

Club football has said goodbye to a striker who was once his country's leading striker and scored many goals for the Netherlands.

Kluivert netted 40 goals in 79 appearances for the Dutch, as stated by Transfermarkt.

The 1998 FIFA World Cup brought Kluivert a mixture of emotions. In the group phase, he was sent off against Belgium for elbowing his opponent Lorenzo Staelens.

He then scored against Argentina in the quarter-finals and Brazil in the semi-finals, but could not prevent the Netherlands's elimination at the hands of the Canarinhos.

Two years later, at UEFA Euro 2000, he missed a penalty in normal time against Italy in the semi-finals, after which the Dutch were eliminated on spot kicks.

After his retirement, Kluivert embarked on a second career on the bench and worked for several clubs and countries.

In 2012, for example, he was appointed assistant manager of the Dutch national team. After that, he also served as head coach of Curaçao.

In 2016, he was hired as PSG's sporting director, a position he left just a year later.

In 2023, Kluivert was named coach of Turkish club Adana Demirspor, where he signed a contract until the summer of 2025. However, his contract was mutually terminated in early December 2023, as reported by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf at the time.

Kluivert's early career was marked by a fatal accident in Amsterdam, when he got involved in a car accident at high speed at the age of 19 and a 56-year-old man was killed, according to Dutch newspaper Het Parool.

Kluivert was handed 240 hours of community service and was banned from driving for 1.5 years.

Today, Kluivert supports his children in fulfilling their dreams. He has four sons, three of whom, Justin, Ruben and Shane, are professional footballers.

So Kluivert's legacy lives on, but his sons will have to do their best to become Dutch legends of the same stature as their father.

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