'I didn't think joining Man Utd was a possibility - Erik ten Hag call changed everything'

Ruud van Nistelrooy spent 5 years astatine Manchester United during his playing vocation and had nary hesitation erstwhile the accidental to instrumentality to Old Trafford came up successful the summer

Ruud van Nistelrooy admits the accidental to instrumentality to Manchester United with Erik 10 Hag was a implicit surprise.

The Dutchman spent 5 years astatine Old Trafford during his illustrious playing vocation nether the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson earlier moving into coaching successful caller years.

Van Nistelrooy, 48, spent implicit a twelvemonth successful complaint of PSV Eindhoven earlier lasting down from his role. He was expected to instrumentality to absorption successful the summertime and was the red-hot favourite to win Vincent Kompany astatine Burnley.

But helium admits a telephone telephone from Ten Hag changed everything arsenic helium shelved his erstwhile plans to acquisition moving astatine his erstwhile nine arsenic portion of a new-look coaching team.

“This is 100 per cent the close decision,” helium told TNT Sports. “I felt a beardown feeling that I privation to assistance physique United small by small backmost to wherever we consciousness and cognize wherever the nine should be.”

He continued: “I was connected a managerial track. I managed PSV, it was an unbelievable experience. I was successful talks with clubs to negociate and I emotion it [managing]. I had my unit each acceptable and past I had a telephone call. I ne'er adjacent saw this arsenic a possibility. Erik called maine and talked it through. I started to emotion the idea.”

Van Nistelrooy has been moving intimately with Manchester United academy postgraduate Marcus Rashford since his accomplishment successful a bid to get the guardant firing again pursuing a hard 2023/24 campaign.

Join the debate! Are you pleased to spot Van Nistelrooy backmost astatine Man Utd? Let america cognize here.

His accomplishment coincided with Rene Hake arsenic United sought to shingle up their coaching squad successful the summer. Ten Hag's erstwhile assistant, Mitchell van der Gaag, and Steve McClaren person since near their roles with the second joining the Jamaica nationalist team. And Ten Hag has been thing but impressed with United's caller recruits with the caller play inactive successful its infancy.

Reflecting connected Van Nistelrooy and Hake recently, Ten Hag said of the duo: “They person done brilliant. They are doing precise well, they’ve integrated precise good. They are different. Ruud was a striker, Rene was much a midfielder defending.

“But more, their quality is antithetic and is precise good. Together, with besides Darren [Fletcher] and Andreas [Georgson, different summertime arrival], I deliberation we signifier a precise bully staff.”

Join our caller WhatsApp communityand person your regular dose of Mirror Football content. We besides dainty our assemblage members to peculiar offers, promotions, and adverts from america and our partners. If you don't similar our community, you tin cheque retired immoderate clip you like. If you're curious, you tin work our Privacy Notice.