Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has revealed that Ruud van Nistelrooy walked off the training pitch several times because Cristiano Ronaldo did not cross the ball to him. He added that the Dutchman was helpful, but was often left frustrated with the upcoming players.
Speaking on BBC Sport, Xavi Simons revealed that Nistelrooy played a key role in helping him develop. Rooney quikcly recalled his time with the former Manchester United striker, saying that he would spend extra minutes with the Dutchman to learn techinques and pick his brain.
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“When I joined Manchester United, I used to stay out with [after training] and watch him. And ask them questions, like, ‘why would you finish here? Why would you not do this?’ And he explains why. So he was really, really important to me as well and such a top player to play with. When you say about Young players coming through and trying to take someone’s place, Ruud could see us. So there was me and Cristiano.”
Rooney added that Ronaldo’s skills on the wings were not appreciated by Nistelrooy as he liked having balls delivered to him and said:
“Ruud went from having David Beckham whipping balls into him to Ronaldo chopping, and you could see him getting frustrated. He walked off the training a few times. You could see he’s thinking ‘Oh these two are coming’ and eventually, obviously, we did and the team changed. It went more of a transition team.”
Cristiano Ronaldo played 91 matches with Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United. They combined for 11 goals, eight of which were scored by the Dutchman.
Former Manchester United striker clear air about Cristiano Ronaldo bust-up
Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted on The Overlap in 2023 that he should have been patient with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. He believes that they were promising talents and he should have helped the duo more and said:
“It was a transition moment in the team with younger guys,” he added. “[Wayne] Rooney came, Ronaldo came, young promising guys. We needed some time to adjust. I would also talk to me now if I was coaching. I would say ‘this is a transition moment, you need to have patience with these young guys’. We didn’t have patience.”
Nistelrooy added that his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo is normal and they have spoken about their issues while they were together at Manchester United.
Edited by Sripad