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Ruud van Nistelrooy is no strange to the Premier League having spent five years at United, establishing himself as a true legend of the club.
The Dutchman had a truly incredible career, playing for top clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid, as well as PSV Eindhoven, Hamburger and Malaga before retiring in 2012.
Across these clubs, the decorated veteran of the game has made 523 appearances, scoring an incredible 331 goals across all competitions. It’s no surprise that with a goal scoring record like this, across his 18 year career, van Nistelrooy was awarded nine different top goal scorer awards, with three UEFA Champions League Golden Boots, one Premier League, one La Liga, one FA Cup, one Supercopa and two KPN Telecompetitie.
Joining United from PSV Eindhoven in 2001 for €28.5 million, van Nistelrooy definitely justified his transfer fee, helping the club secure a win in the Premier League 2002/03 season, the English Super Cup in 2003/04, the 2004 FA Cup and 2006 League Cup, as well as being awarded Manchester United player of the year in 2001/02.
Leaving United in 2006 to join Real Madrid for €15 million, the striker kept up his winning ways, helping Los Blancos to win back to back La Liga titles in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, and back to back Spanish Super Cup in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons.
Leaving Madrid in 2010 0n a free transfer, van Nistelrooy played a year in Germany for Hamburger before joining Malaga in Spain for his final season before retirement.
Throughout his career, the striker performed immensely well, not just for his club teams, but also for the Dutch national squad, having made 70 appearances scoring 35 goals, giving him the impressive record of a goal every other game.
Now, after 18 years away from the Premier League, the decorated Dutchman could be looking at a return to manage previous winners, Leicester City.
Manchester Evening News have reported that the newly promoted club are on the search for a new manager, with their current boss, Enzo Maresca, working out a deal to take the helm at Chelsea.
Having taken a break from management for a year, van Nistelrooy previously managed PSV Eindhoven where he secured a victory in the Dutch Cup, whilst also having experience as a deputy to Guus Hiddink leading the Dutch national team.
Earlier this year, the man himself expressed his managerial ambitions with AS, stating: “I would really like to work in Spain, and I have had conversations with Spanish clubs. But also the other leagues in which I have played, I want to coach there too. In the Premier League, and the Bundesliga.”
Van Nistelrooy and Leicester do have previous ties, with jamie Vardy being the one to break the legend’s consecutive Premier League scoring streak in 2015, sealing the record with a goal against United themselves. If van Nistelrooy were to take up the role, this could see the two record breaking strikers working together.
