Ruud Van Nistelrooy Left Manchester United Because Of Cristiano Ronaldo Comment

Ruud van Nistelrooy will be regarded as one of Manchester United's greatest goal scorers.

But despite netting 95 times for the club, his time at Old Trafford will forever be tarnished after it was revealed why his time under Sir Alex Ferguson came to an end.

It was believed that van Nistelrooy's spell at United ended because of his antics during the 2006 Carling Cup final. The player reportedly swore at Ferguson after he wasn't used as a substitute against Wigan Athletic.

Shortly after that incident with Ferguson, the prolific Dutchman signed for Real Madrid and the rest is history.

Image: PA

But 11 years after his departure from Old Trafford, a segment from a book released by former Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell has revealed another possible reason behind his departure and it involves Cristiano Ronaldo.

Campbell, who is a good friend of Sir Alex Ferguson, said that Fergie told him about van Nistelrooy's departure, noting how difficult the Dutch forward was to manage.

Image: PA

As reported by the Times, Campbell's book said the following about van Nistelrooy's departure:

"The last straw was when he told Cristiano Ronaldo he had found a new dad in Carlos [Queiroz, Ferguson's assistant] just after Ronaldo's dad, who was an alcoholic, had died."

"Carlos asked him to show respect and he said he didn't respect anyone there. He later apologised but CR was not having it.

"Alex sent Van Nistlerooy home when he heard about it later. He was not sure what he was going to do with him." Campbell wrote.

van Nistelrooy went onto play for Real Madrid, Hamburg and Malaga before retiring in 2012, but his time at Manchester United is arguably his best stint in football.

The Dutchman has played with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, ZInedine Zidane, Raul, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, to name but a few.

But during a Twitter Q&A with the Champions League, he's named the best player he's played with.

Needless to say, it's a hell of a shout and one that's hard to argue.

Thoughts on van Nistelrooy's actions?

Let us know in the comments.

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Topics: Football News, Football

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_