Ruud Forever

Ruud Van Nistelrooy was born on July 1st 1976 in Oss, Holland. He got his first football from his Uncle Gert-Jan when he was a toddler.

Ruud was originally a sweeper, but in 1993, he started playing up-front after he joined FC Den Bosch. He moved to SC Heerenveen four years later.

On Ruud's 22nd birthday, he signed for PSV Eindhoven for £4.2 million. He made his international debut for Holland on November 18th 1998 against Germany.

In May 1999, Ruud was the top goal scorer in the Dutch league. He had scored 31 goals. He was also voted Dutch Player of the Year and he came second in the European Golden Boot award.

Manchester United were going to sign Ruud in April 2000 but he had a weak right knee and refused to have it seen to as he didn't want to miss Euro 2000. However, two days later, Ruud damaged his cruciate ligament in that knee so the transfer was put on hold.

In 2001, Manchester United finally bought Van Nistelrooy for a record fee of £19 million. Ruud turned down an offer from Real Madrid. He stayed at United for 5 years, scoring 150 goals in 219 games. In this time he won the Premiership, Charity Shield, FA Cup, and Carling Cup with the club.

On July 28th 2006, Ruud signed for Real Madrid for £10.2 million, ending months of speculation. In his first season, he helped Madrid regain the La Liga title, and he was the top goal scorer of the competition.