Ruud van Nistelrooy will be regarded as one of Manchester United’s greatest goal scorers.
But despite netting 95 times for the club, his time at Old Trafford will forever be tarnished after it was revealed why his time under Sir Alex Ferguson came to an end.
Shortly after that incident with Ferguson, the prolific Dutchman signed for Real Madrid and the rest is history.
But 11 years after his departure from Old Trafford, a segment from a book released by former Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell has revealed another possible reason behind his departure and it involves Cristiano Ronaldo.
Campbell, who is a good friend of Sir Alex Ferguson, said that Fergie told him about van Nistelrooy’s departure, noting how difficult the Dutch forward was to manage.
As reported by the Times, Campbell’s book said the following about van Nistelrooy’s departure:
“The last straw was when he told Cristiano Ronaldo he had found a new dad in Carlos [Queiroz, Ferguson’s assistant] just after Ronaldo’s dad, who was an alcoholic, had died.”
“Carlos asked him to show respect and he said he didn’t respect anyone there. He later apologised but CR was not having it.
“Alex sent Van Nistelrooy home when he heard about it later. He was not sure what he was going to do with him.” Campbell wrote.
van Nistelrooy went onto play for Real Madrid, Hamburg and Malaga before retiring in 2012, but his time at Manchester United is arguably his best stint in football.
The Dutchman has played with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, ZInedine Zidane, Raul, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, to name but a few.
SB.com
