‘Only thing certain for a Chelsea manager is that he gets fired’ - Ruud Gullit explains why top bosses like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp & Jose Mourinho would snub Blues

Gullit admits as much, with the legendary Dutchman watching on from afar as Chelsea endure a testing 2025-26 campaign that may yet leave them without European football of any kind.

A humbling fall from grace has been endured over the course of 12 months that peaked with Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs, alongside Champions League qualification, but now sees the Blues languishing ninth in the English top-flight table.

Ambitious owners have continued to spend heavily in the transfer market, but questions have been asked of the philosophy adopted there - with potential often being favoured over pedigree.

Inconsistency has become a familiar theme at Stamford Bridge, leading to Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior departing the dugout and reins being passed to Calum McFarlane on a caretaker basis. He has led Chelsea to the FA Cup final, meaning that more major silverware is up for grabs.

Victory over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on May 16 would also see the Blues secure tickets to the 2026-27 Europa League. Said success would help to paper over a few cracks, but more big decisions need to be made over the summer in coaching and playing departments.

Chelsea have been linked with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva. They all have something to offer, with their respective reputations on the rise, but are the Blues becoming an unappealing option for the very best in the business?

When that question was put to Gullit, a man that led Chelsea to FA Cup glory in 1997 as player-manger, told GOAL while speaking in association with MrRaffle.com: “Yes, because any manager would see what I see and say: ‘I need experienced players. I need a Casemiro, a [Aurelien] Tchouameni. I need these types of players in midfield. I need this kind of experience alongside the young talent’. And if you don't have them, it's going to be a problem.

“The only thing that is certain for a Chelsea manager is that he gets fired. That's the only certainty. And as a coach you have to learn to adapt to the club's philosophy. Does it match yours? And do you get the players you need to do what you want to do?

“Pep Guardiola got all the players he wanted. That's why he's been successful. But if you told Pep, ‘Deal with what we give you’, he wouldn't come. Mourinho wouldn't come. Klopp wouldn't come. [Carlo] Ancelotti wouldn't come. These are people who know exactly what the right formula is.”

Chelsea, who snapped a six-game losing streak in Premier League competition when holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw last time out, have two top-flight fixtures to come after facing City in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

They will see relegation-threatened Tottenham pay a visit to the Bridge, before a final day trip to Sunderland is taken in. The Blues can, in theory, still force their way into the top seven, but odds are now stacked against them and that will make recruitment difficult for whoever agrees to take the reins on a permanent basis - with the new man at the helm aware that he will have little margin for error when filling a seat that is becoming increasingly hot.

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