When Rio Ferdinand signed for Manchester United in July 2002, Ruud van Nistelrooy had already been at Old Trafford for a year. The Dutch striker had thrived in his debut campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson, but the Reds ultimately lost out on the Premier League title to Arsenal.
Van Nistelrooy, despite registering a staggering 36 goals in the 2001/02 season, did not win the Golden Boot that campaign - and Sir Alex's role in that has been well documented. However, after adding Ferdinand to their ranks for the following term, United got their revenge on the Gunners and regained their crown.
Having scored 25 goals in the title-winning season, it came as no surprise that Van Nistelrooy was the league's top goalscorer. He finally got his hands on the individual accolade, and much like United did with Arsenal, got his revenge on Thierry Henry after finishing behind him in the charts the previous term.
