Manchester United fans have witness some exceptional strikers in the famous red shirt, but one player’s Old Trafford career could have vanished.
Ask Manchester United fans for their favourite strikers and you will likely hear a wide range of answers.
Wayne Rooney, Denis Law, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Mark Hughes, Robin van Persie, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – everybody will have their favourites from over the years.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will be right up there too after the Dutchman enjoyed an incredible five-year run at Old Trafford.
Van Nistelrooy was a popular figure in his playing days and then returned to United as a coach last summer.
Ruben Amorim’s arrival meant that Van Nistelrooy departed United and went on to become the Leicester City boss.
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Sir Alex Ferguson turned Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Manchester United ‘nightmare’ around
United who remember Van Nistelrooy’s arrival will recall that the striker received a cruel blow in 2000.
Van Nistelrooy had smashed 73 goals in 78 games for PSV Eindhoven, sparking United’s interest.
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An £18.5million move to United was in place before disaster struck as Van Nistelrooy tore his anterior cruciate ligament in training.
United already had concerns about Van Nistelrooy’s fitness and postponed the move just days before that brutal injury blow.
Sir Alex Ferguson noted that a dream move had turned into a ‘nightmare’ for Van Nistelrooy with United simply wishing him well in his recovery.
“It’s a terrible blow for the lad,” said Ferguson. “What started as a bright week for Ruud has turned into a nightmare for him.
“Everybody at Manchester United wishes him a speedy recovery from this latest setback,” he added, as quoted by BBC Sport.
Van Nistelrooy managed four goals in 12 games after his return from injury but the doubts about his injury record were strong.
Ferguson and United then made a big call in 2001; Van Nistelrooy would be signed despite his knee problems.
United remained patient over Van Nistelrooy, even failing to sign a single player through the 2000/01 season.
Van Nistelrooy was the man Ferguson wanted and his patience paid off in quite spectacular fashion.
The Dutchman smashed 150 goals in 219 games for United, a simply ridiculous record at the highest level.
Wayne Rooney has praised Van Nistelrooy as the best finisher he saw at United whilst Jermaine Defoe has named Van Nistelrooy as an inspiration.
Van Nistelrooy still holds the record for most Champions League goals in a United shirt with 35 goals, a record which will take some time to break.
Ferguson sold Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid in 2006 but it’s fair to say that this was one of his big transfer masterstrokes, turning a disaster into Champions League brilliance.
Sir Alex Ferguson angered PSV Eindhoven over Ruud van Nistelrooy
Van Nistelrooy’s move to United became a dream but Ferguson risked seeing the deal collapse entirely in 2000.
As noted by The Guardian, Ferguson came up with an idea for Van Nistelrooy to come and train with United for a month as he continued to rehabilitate from his injury.
PSV were outraged, slamming Ferguson for an ‘unbelievable’ idea whilst indicating that the relations between the two clubs could have been affected.
“I think Ferguson should be ashamed of himself. This is very rude of Manchester United. It’s unbelievable,” said Haary van Raay, PSV chairman at the time.
“I can hardly imagine that someone can call himself Sir and yet say these crazy words. I’m asking myself, how does Ferguson think – it’s a mad idea. Ferguson has to realise that he first has to contact us,” he added.
“We are very upset about this because this is just not how we do things in Holland,” added PSV spokesman Pedro Salazar-Hewitt.
“Why did Mr Ferguson not call our president? Instead he just came out and said that he was inviting Van Nistelrooy to Manchester. Just who does he think he is? He can’t make decisions on the future of Van Nistelrooy.
“We have a good relationship with Manchester United and there are lines of communication open between the two clubs. They can call us any time and this is not the way to do things.
“If Mr Ferguson is so keen to look after our injured players we have four others he can invite over to Manchester.
“Van Nistelrooy is also our player, not Manchester United’s, and he’s under contract to us for another three years. We paid for his operation, we’re paying for his rehabilitation and we’re paying his salary, so there’s just no way that Mr Ferguson can invite van Nistelrooy over for a month. “What’s wrong with our training and rehabilitation methods?
“We think this is very disrespectful and shows no respect for our club or the player,” he added.
Everything was smoothed over in the end and Van Nistelrooy ended up becoming one of Ferguson’s best-ever United signings, battling through all of the hurdles to become an Old Trafford hero.