The season 1996/1997 was a difficult one, because of the anti-Kluivert campaign in the Dutch media. In May 1996, Kluivert was convicted for being guilty of causing a car accident in which one person died. This put Kluivert in a dark light and according to some newspapers the sentence of 240 hours of community service was not harsh enough. When in 1996, a woman claimed to be raped by Kluivert, the media made huge stories out of it. At the end of 1997, Guus Hiddink even refused to call up Kluivert for the Dutch squad, until the case was finished in court. Unfortunately there was never any media attention for the fact that Kluivert was proven innocent and the female had agreed on having sex. A cab driver testified in court that the female on her way back home proudly said: "Do you know where I've just been? I was at Patrick Kluivert's home. hihihi". However, Kluivert was now regarded as rapist and his name has never been cleared.
The supporters started to hiss at Kluivert and so it was best for Kluivert to leave Ajax. At 13 February 1997, Kluivert signed a new contract to join AC Milan the next season. He chose AC Milan because his idols, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard used to play there. Another important reason to choose Milan was that one of his best friends, Edgar Davids played there too. And so in 1997 Patrick Kluivert became reunited with Davids, Reiziger and Bogarde.
Although Kluivert had just went through a difficult last year, it became even more difficult at AC Milan. He scored only 6 goals that season and had been degraded to a substitute. Kluivert seemed to be drowning, however the World Championship of 1998 had yet to be played. All hope faded, when in the first match against Belgium, a Belgian defender called Kluivert "rapist" and Kluivert gave him a thrust being totally fed up of being falsely called rapist. Kluivert received a red card for it: his first red card ever. Although he was banned for 2 matches, trainer Guus Hiddink kept Kluivert on the bench when he was allowed to play again. However, Kluivert took his chance in the quarterfinal against Argentina and thanks to his goal, the Netherlands surprisingly beat Argentina 2-1. In the semi-finals, The Netherlands dominated the game against Brazil, although they were 0-1 behind for most of the game. Just when it seemed all over, it was Kluivert who scored the 1-1 with a great header. However, in the extra time no goals were scored and the Netherlands was eliminated in the penalty shoot-out.
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