Justin Kluivert interview: ‘I have lived with my father’s name and it has always been my motivation’

Justin Kluivert has a simple explanation as to why he joined Bournemouth. “It was love at first sight,” he says laughing, and there is a lot of laughter as the forward explains what it is like to be the youngest ever player to score in Europe’s top five leagues, the “stability” he now needs in his career – and life as the son of the great Patrick Kluivert and whether the Kluivert family (father and four boys) could ever have their own five-a-side team.

“It is not recommendable, to be fair,” Kluivert says of his extraordinary tour of Europe which has taken him from Ajax to Roma and then loan spells at RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia before finally making a permanent move last summer to Bournemouth.

During each of those loans the clubs wanted to buy him – only for the coach to leave (Julian Nagelsmann from Leipzig to Bayern Munich and Christophe Galtier from Nice to Paris St-Germain) or Valencia not being able to agree terms.

Kluivert could also have been in the Premier League even earlier, before he moved to Spain.

“I was going to go to Fulham [in August 2022],” he says. “Everything was agreed and then I was told ‘you haven’t got a work permit’ probably because of Brexit and so on. To this day I don’t really know why and that was a pity because I was looking for a fresh start, a new step and a Premier League move.

“At the last moment it collapsed and I had to make a quick decision but didn’t want to make a crazy decision so I went on loan again, this time to Spain and a beautiful season with Valencia. They also wanted me to stay, I would have loved to have stayed but in football a lot of things happen – how much does he cost? – and at that moment Bournemouth were like: we have a plan, you are someone we need. And that was all I needed to hear. Love at first sight!”

There is a pause before he adds: “I have lived in Valencia, in Rome, in the south of France and now in Bournemouth. Always the south, eh? Maybe I chase the sun.” But there is a serious point. Kluivert admits he craved “stability”, explaining: “I am a person of ‘feeling’. I like that. Bournemouth were interested in me very early and 100 per cent and for me that was enough.

“I wanted to be at a club and not on loan. It was right at the point that I needed and wanted to hear. I didn’t have to think twice and I was so motivated and also because the club has a lot of ambition, which I also have. I am 24 and looking up from now on and I want to be at a club that is in the same direction.

“It’s not just what they say but what they show. Next year there will be a new training ground, then a new stadium and there are the players they attract. That speaks louder than words. Everything is looking good.”

It is, indeed. Under new head coach Andoni Iraola – another factor in Kluivert signing – Bournemouth are flying after a difficult start. They are away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday and are the Premier League’s form team with 13 points from their last five games having taken only six from their previous 11. It is some turnaround.

“There is a lot of stuff to get used to for the coach especially, he’s the one at the front of team,” Kluivert explains. “Then when you win some games you get a feeling ‘all right, this is how we play, this is what, for example, [Marcus] Tavernier is good at. I now know what Dom [Solanke] is good at. They know me better. They know ‘ah, Justin is this type of player’. They didn’t know me before and I didn’t know them.

“Yes, it was difficult at the start. If you are losing then you come into an environment where you are more scared to go for the action because you don’t want to lose and now we are in a different momentum and the results speak for that. We are willing to press, we are willing to do that extra and that comes from the wins, the confidence.”

Bournemouth’s faith in Iraola, recruited after turning down a new contract at Rayo Vallecano in Spain, impressed Kluivert.

“It’s not like we lose three or four games and they want to change the coach,” he says. “They want to give him time and that’s the key thing. Sometimes it goes fast. Four games and you can be sacked. But if a club has ambition and with a coach with an idea it’s good to see them stand behind him.”

Iraola’s appointment was announced just four days after Kluivert’s deal was revealed – he was Bournemouth’s first summer signing – and the two spoke beforehand.

“I played against him, I scored against him [for Valencia]. I keep reminding him of that. The team he coached were one of the teams I didn’t know about before I played them but afterwards I thought ‘ah, they have a plan’.”

Although not ideal the moves around Europe have, Kluivert claims, made him a better player: “For sure and that’s the best thing about it. At Ajax I was a real winger, staying on the line, one against one. At Roma I got to know different positions: no 10, inside winger, second striker. I have learnt a lot and I am thankful for that and want to learn even more and be better in every position I can be.”

It was not deliberate that Kluivert travelled around the top five European leagues – but it has meant he has set a remarkable record. His recent goal against Sheffield United was widely picked up. He is only the third player, ever, to score in those five top leagues and by far the youngest at 24.

Who are the others?

“Jovetic,” Kluivert says with Stevan Jovetic having scored for Fiorentina, Manchester City, Sevilla, Monaco and Hertha Berlin. And the other? It started before Kluivert was born – the Romanian striker Florin Raducioiu who did it with several Italian clubs, including Brescia, then Espanyol, West Ham United, VfB Stuttgart and Monaco.

“Ok, but I am the youngest to do it! It’s like when I am speaking you would think I am 34 or something but I am 24. I have at least 10 years to give my all so I can’t wait to see what is in the future for me,” Kluivert says.

‘Sometimes people call me Patrick – so that is funny’

Kluivert’s father also played in those five leagues – most famously at Barcelona and in England for Newcastle United – having also started his career with Ajax and Justin knows there will always be the inevitable comparisons.

“He was a very famous footballer and you feel it everywhere you go,” he says. “Sometimes people call me ‘Patrick’ and then say ‘ah, sorry it’s Justin.’ So that is funny – he was a bit taller also. You feel it and hear it everywhere. Everyone has heard of my dad and I get that comparison. ‘Are you going to be as good as your dad?’ they say but that’s ok. I admire how good he was and the only pity is I never saw him play although I have watched every clip on YouTube.

“I have lived with the name and it has always been my motivation. I know some people can feel like a pressure and I understand that. But for me it was a motivation to show people I am my own good footballer. Not because of my dad. That is not why I was at the Ajax academy. It was because I worked my ass off, you know? It only bothered me in a good way. I was there because of my own qualities and it made me who I am today. I don’t feel the weight of the name on my shoulders.”

He is one of four sons: there is Quincy, the eldest, who is a DJ then Justin and then Ruben, a defender for Dordrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie, and finally Shane, another forward, who is only 16 and has just signed for Barcelona.

“I think we could make a great team five-a-side team,” Kluivert says. “We have some defenders in the family. My dad? He will always be the striker. The number nine.” What about Quincy, why is not a footballer? “He’s also good at football [and was at the Ajax academy],” Justin says. “We can still play, at least three of us, in the [Dutch] national team together. There is time, so who knows?”

Kluivert: It was scary to be on pitch when Lockyer suffered his cardiac arrest

Justin Kluivert has spoken of how “scary” it was to be on the pitch when Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest against Bournemouth last weekend.

The Bournemouth forward also said he had a “flashback” to what happened to one of his best friends, Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered a cardiac arrhythmia during a pre-season friendly for Ajax in 2017 and was in a coma for a year before emerging with limited cognitive ability. Fortunately Lockyer was discharged from hospital on Thursday after having a defibrillator fitted in his chest and is continuing his recovery at home.

Luton say the successful procedure will “prevent a repeat of Saturday’s incident” which led to the Premier League match being abandoned in the 59th minute with the score at 1-1. It will be replayed later this season.

“Those moments are so scary,” Kluivert said. “It is life or death and it’s something way out of football. I had this memory a few years ago and I saw it not really go good with somebody (Nouri) so it was very strange, very scary and if you see this happen there was also a little flashback for me. I just hope everything is fine with him (Lockyer). The line can be so thin.”

Kluivert knew the seriousness of the incident immediately. “It was a shock to see somebody fall like that to the ground,” he said. “On the pitch and then in the changing room we didn’t have any feeling to play football anymore. You don’t have the feeling. So, it was the right decision to stop and, for me, it showed a lot of respect. There are things that are way more important in life than football. Football is not everything.

For us it felt very bad but I can’t think about how it was for the Luton players who see him every day. It must have been such a great impact on them.”

Kluivert paid tribute to the reaction of the fans when the game was called off, with the players carrying out a lap of appreciation. “It was very nice to see that,” he said. “If we play a game against Luton then they (the fans) are shouting at you, but that’s football. It is what makes it so great.

“But in moments like last Saturday you see we are actually all together and that is what makes football even more beautiful. The game is the game but outside of it we are all the same and we have that respect and it’s nice to see that from everybody.

Asked whether he was ok, or needed help himself, especially after what happened to Nouri, Kluivert said: “I am ok. We also have people at the club who we can speak to if we have problems and there are our team-mates and that helps a lot. We are a big family and that relieves a lot of things.”

Nouri suffered serious and permanent brain damage after his collapse. “I have a lot of memories but it’s very difficult,” Kluivert said. “You can see how quickly life can change so you have to be thankful for every moment with your family, friends and in football.”