While he went on to become one of Manchester United's greatest ever goalscorers, Ruud van Nistelrooy almost missed out on his chance of playing for the club. After suffering a knee ligament injury during a PSV training session, his expected move to Old Trafford was delayed by a year.
The Dutchman's debut campaign with the Reds - where he scored 23 Premier League goals - was the perfect start to his time in England, even if he did miss out on winning the Golden Boot to Arsenal's Thierry Henry. An individual accolade like that would have been a fitting reward for the season the striker enjoyed but his hopes were dashed by his own manager. Sir Alex Ferguson left him out of the final match of the 2000/2001 season.
Ferguson's decision to bench him in the final game of the season, while ruthless and somewhat unnecessary, paid off. The following season, United won the league title, with Van Nistelrooy also claiming the golden boot. He finished with 25 goals in 34 games, scored three hat-tricks and bagged in each of the final eight games of the season as United regained their crown.
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Van Nistelrooy continued to enjoy success in the seasons that followed, with the striker only failing to score more than 20 goals in the 2004/2005 campaign. This, however, was largely due to injury. The Dutchman spent a lot of the season on the sidelines, but still managed to score the opening goal to end Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run. He was later banned for three games for a foul on Ashley Cole that the referee had missed, though.
The previous campaign, which saw the Reds lose the FA Cup final to the Gunners, was frustrating for Van Nistelrooy, but in many ways, it made him even more determined to dominate the following term. At the start of the 2005/06 season, he scored in United's first four Premier League games. The Dutchman, as many predicted, went on to enjoy an impressive individual campaign in front of goal, but despite finishing as the second-highest league scorer with 21 goals, behind Henry, it ended on a sour note.
Ferguson had already proven that he was not afraid to drop his star players - with Van Nistelrooy's omission in 2001 being the example that many people refer to. Therefore, when the striker was benched for the League Cup Final against Wigan Athletic, it led to speculation of a rift between him and Ferguson, which Van Nistelrooy denied.
However, the Dutchman was then left on the bench for six consecutive league matches, and despite returning to the starting line-up and scoring match-winners against West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers, he was named among the substitutes for the season finale win over Charlton Athletic. Ferguson's decision was bold and brave, yet, with the Reds cruising to a 4-0 victory, it ultimately didn't matter.
Louis Saha, who scored the opening goal of the game, had started up-front alongside Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi. The former was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while Van Nistelrooy remained an unused substitute. It was, evidently, a comfortable afternoon for Ferguson's side, but a lot of the talk, unsurprisingly, was about the Dutch striker's omission.
While his absence did not prove to be costly, his snubbing angered Van Nistelrooy. Ferguson claimed that the Reds striker was so angry at the decision that he left the stadium three hours before kick-off.
In May 2006, it was widely reported that Van Nistelrooy's exclusion from the squad was due to a training ground fight between him and then teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. It was alleged, and later confirmed by Saha, that the Dutchman was frustrated with Ronaldo's tendency to hold onto the ball instead of passing to his teammates. This, in turn, sparked a clash between the two Reds players - as well as Van Nistelrooy's infamous 'daddy' remark.
"What are you going to do? Complain to your daddy?" Van Nistelrooy is alleged to have said to Ronaldo. His comment - one that came without any real thought or consideration - was in reference to United's assistant manager, Carlos Queiroz. Ronaldo, who had a good relationship with the Portuguese coach, is said to have taken the statement literally and allegedly broke into tears.
His father, Jose, had died just eight months previously.
"Ruud had that kind of ego: he wanted all the passes," Saha told FourFourTwo in 2019. "And sometimes, for the development of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, it was difficult for the manager to deal with.
"Did Ruud make Ronaldo cry? Yeah, there were stories because I think they ended up in an argument at the moment when Cristiano’s father had passed away, so it wasn’t the right moment. Things like that happen when two players have lots of spirit, but I’m sure Ruud regrets some of his words.
"Cristiano was just an animal. I don’t know if you can say that he was a human! You could see from when he was 18 or 19 that this guy was not normal."
Van Nistelrooy, albeit unintentionally, had upset Ronaldo. He knew it, too. Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's Vibe with Five YouTube show in 2021, the Dutchman admitted that, looking back, he knew he was wrong and was happy to apologise at the time.
"The press was going on about that particular incident and I also commented on it, I’m happy to do it again because I know I was wrong in that situation," he explained. "I immediately walked into the dressing room and sat next to him and apologised for my behaviour when I calmed down.
"That frustration is coming from somewhere and now when you're 44 you look back and when things happen around you in your private life, it can make you frustrated. It led to a discussion with Cristiano but you have to be big enough to acknowledge that."
After being named among the substitutes for the 2006 League Cup final against Wigan Athletic, Van Nistelrooy was livid. United won the game 4-0, but the striker remained on the bench, with Wayne Rooney and Saha starting up front instead. The Dutchman would go on to verbally abuse his manager from the substitutes bench.
In an interview with Eleven Sports in 2019, he admitted that he shouted at Ferguson in a "blind rage" and that he regretted disrespecting his manager, as the pair had enjoyed a good relationship before the incident.
"It was very harsh, both ways," Van Nistelrooy said. "Especially after five years of having such a strong bond. I learned so much from him, and in all modesty: he from me too. And yet the end was ruthless. It was me who took the first step to make it okay again. I called him.
"A few times a year I felt bad about what I had done to him and the names I called him when he kept me on the bench the entire match in the League Cup final in Cardiff. In a blind rage, I shouted at him."
When asked if he had called Ferguson a 'Scottish pig', the Dutchman replied: "I called him something. I called him a number of things in a blind rage. Cocky and stubborn as I was, I couldn't snap out of that for some time after. That's how it all crashed.
"It was just really disrespectful, there were lots of other people there. It wasn't all that outrageous in terms of words but it was completely out of order. Not done. I wasn't proud of it, still am not."
Ferguson actually devoted an entire chapter of his second autobiography to Van Nistelrooy. In his book, the Scot claimed that he brought Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic on against Wigan because they had just joined the club and he wanted to give them a taste of success in the final. This, he believes, led to Van Nistelrooy's outburst.
"We were on cruise control against Wigan and I saw an ideal opportunity to give Evra and Vidic a taste of the game They were my final substitutions," Ferguson recounted. "I turned to Ruud and said: 'I'm going to give these two lads a part of the game.' They were going to get a touch, a smell of winning something with Manchester United
"'You —,' said Van Nistelrooy.
"I'll always remember that. Could not believe it. Carlos Queiroz turned on him. It became fractious in the dug-out. The other players were telling him: 'Behave yourself.'"
Given how the 2005/06 season ended, it was no real surprise when Van Nistelrooy signed for Real Madrid in the July of that year. He departed Old Trafford after five successful seasons, having registered 150 goals in 219 appearances. He remains the club's fifth all-time top goalscorer, as well as United's second all-time European goalscorer, behind Rooney.
The decision to drop Van Nistelrooy against Charlton for the final game of the season was never truly going to cost United, but it was a clear message from Ferguson. It was, ultimately, the final straw in the pair's fractious relationship. Both parties - the Reds and the Dutch striker - enjoyed success following the player's departure, and it felt like the right time for his Old Trafford curtain to close.
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