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In recent difficult times, the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is going through a particularly tough period, returned to the club and will participate in the team's preparation camp for the new season on Monday.
The 30-year-old striker asked to leave the "Red Devils" team, and is currently actively being pursued by German champions Bayern Munich and Spanish giants Real Madrid. The latter offered £12 million for the player, but the offer was rejected. Bayern claims they have already spoken with the Dutchman about the conditions of the transfer.
Due to his unclear future, it was speculated that R. van Nistelrooy would not appear at Monday's training session, but nevertheless, the player arrived at Carrington, where he underwent the first day of preparation for the new season. Like many "United" players, he participated in the World Championships and was given a certain period to recover from the hardships of the summer.
Englishmen Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, and Rio Ferdinand, as well as Dutchman Edwin van der Sar, South Korean Ji-Sung Park, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo had time to recover. Ronaldo had less time to recover as he reached the semi-finals of the tournament with the national team.
However, "Man Utd" manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who ordered the Dutch striker to return to training, did not personally meet with R. van Nistelrooy as he arrived later. There were reports that if the player had not shown up at the team's training camp, the coach would have punished him with a two-week fine.
"Ruud knows that the first training session will take place on Monday. I hope to see him there," said S.A. Ferguson the day before training at Carrington.
Most likely, R. van Nistelrooy will appear on the field in a friendly match on Wednesday against "Celtic" or in the weekend match against "Preston". Earlier, the Scottish specialist stated that the striker tried to leave "Old Trafford" three times since May 2005.
"Ruud asked to leave the club after last year's FA Cup final match against Arsenal, then wanted to represent us again, and now he himself wrote in his request that he would like to leave the club," the coach said. "In fact, if he wants to leave Old Trafford, there is no chance to convince him to stay. I cannot say why he wants to leave or why his heart does not want to stay - all I can say is that he requested to leave the team and we agree with that."
It is believed that R. van Nistelrooy will move to Real Madrid, but Ferguson stated: "They made us an offer, which we rejected. If they do not come back and make a new offer, he will not go anywhere and will have to accept it."
It is considered that "United" would want to receive £15-16 million for the player, but the Vice President of the "royal" club Juan Mendoza stated that they are not willing to pay an "insane" amount and offer as much as the player is worth. Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello admitted that he wants to see the striker wearing his team's shirt, and Bayern Munich stated that they have been in communication with the player who wants to play for their team.
"He wants to play for us. Now we are negotiating with 'Man Utd'," said General Director Uli Hoeness to the German website on Sunday.
This was confirmed by Bayern team president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: "Ruud said he would like to wear our team's shirt. We also discussed money, but of course, in the end, everything will be decided by 'Man Utd'."
It should be noted that the Dutchman moved to the "Red Devils" club in 2001 from PSV Eindhoven for £19 million, and while playing for Man Utd, he scored 158 goals in 218 matches.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson also insisted on finding a new midfielder because last November the team captain Roy Keane left the club, a matter which may be more important than finding a replacement for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who wants to leave, and reiterated that Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale, despite disagreements with his teammate Wayne Rooney, who was sent off the field in the World Cup quarter-final match between England and Portugal, allegedly due to Ronaldo's fault.
"Now my main concern is the midfield. When you lose a player of Roy's caliber, who, no matter what happened, despite his age, always helped his team, you need a good replacement," said the coach. "There is no discord between Rooney and Ronaldo. I know that W. Rooney was upset with C. Ronaldo, but I don't foresee any major problems."
