July 28 - Van Nistelrooy Signs for Real

No matter how good you might perceive yourself to be, you can’t cross Sir Alex Ferguson. This is what Ruud Van Nistelrooy found out today in 2006, when Manchester United sold their leading goalscorer of the past five seasons to Real Madrid for €15 million.

Ruud had been an instant success and fans favourite since his record-breaking £19 million move from PSV Eindhoven in 2001. He would score 36 goals in his debut season at Old Trafford and bagged the PFA Players’ Player of the Year Award in the process. He maintained this prolific scoring rate throughout his time at the Red Devils, scoring an incredible 150 goals in 201 appearances and finishing with a better goals-to-game ratio than any other United striker.

Of course, all this success, particularly at the country’s most hated team will only breed contempt amongst ones rivals. There were constant allegations of diving, jokes that started “so why the long face…”and no-one wants to have Martin Keown as close to their face as Ruud did when he missed a penalty in a top-of-the-table clash against Arsenal in 2003.

In the 2005/06 season however, it was not only his rivals that he was beginning to upset. Van Nistelrooy’s grandfather was once banned for 15 matches for punching an opponent, and Ruud would offer proof that these character traits would indeed skip a generation, as it was reported that he came to blows with Christiano Ronaldo during a training session, after the Dutchman criticised his team-mate for keeping hold of the ball. This came at frustrating time for Van Nistelrooy as he had been dropped by Ferguson for the Carling Cup final and kept on the bench for the next six matches. Van Nistelrooy believed that the club were trying to force him out. “I exploded and began swearing at Ferguson because I felt he had kicked my soul. That was the moment things died and, after that, things would never be good, they could never be the same again,” was how he later recalled the aftermath of the Carling Cup victory over Wigan.

With Van Nistelrooy also falling out with his national team boss, Marco Van Basten, it became clear that he needed a change. His move to Real Madrid proved to be just the tonic, finishing as top scorer in the La Liga with 25 often crucial goals, as he was an integral part of Los Merengues’ first title win in four years.

See below for footage of the afore-mentioned rumble with Martin Keown and Ray Parlour at Old Trafford in 2003.

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