Ruud Savours Red Years

Ruud van Nistelrooy says playing for Manchester United “felt like a dream” and he misses the “special relationship” shared with the club’s supporters.

The legendary Dutch striker, who scored 150 goals in 217 appearances for the Reds, also admits his main regret about leaving M16 was his inability to say goodbye to the fans.

“It was a fantastic five years,” Van Nistelrooy told Inside United. “It was crazy, all of the games that we played in the league, in the cups and in the Champions League. As a football player playing for United and at Old Trafford, it was something crazy and it felt like a dream at the time.

“The fans were really special. From the first day onwards it was there and it just gives you that extra 10 or 20 per cent on the pitch, home and away. The away fans were always there and firing the team on, and individual players as well.

“After the games we would always celebrate together and we made a point of going over to thank them for their support. My relationship with the fans was very special and that’s why leaving in the way I did was, and still is, a real shame for me because I couldn’t really say goodbye to them.

“It was my only regret that it went like that and it’s a shame that it happened, particularly for the fans as I saw the people at the club before I left but I never got a chance to properly say goodbye to the fans.”

After signing for Real Madrid in the summer of 2006, Van Nistelrooy went on to enjoy a successful spell with German side Hamburg before returning to La Liga with mega-rich Malaga, where he is currently spearheading their bid for Champions League qualification. Not bad for a 35-year old.

Despite his advancing years, Van Nistelrooy is enjoying his football and says he has no intention of hanging up the boots. Similarly, the predatory goal scorer admits he is not surprised by the continued excellence of old team-mates Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

“I’m not really surprised because I know their qualities and I know how they how they look after themselves. They haven’t had a lot of injuries so in that sense they have had the luck.

“They are crazy about the game and they love what they do. With the qualities they have, they can carry on for even longer, and that is great to see.”