Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooy, born Oss, Netherlands, July 1,1976. Ruud van Nistelrooy made his competitive debut for Manchester United in a narrow 2-1 defeat against bitter rivals Liverpool at Millennium Stadium in the FA Charity Shield on the 12th of August 2001 and proceeded to score an astonishing 150 goals in 220 appearances for the club before he went on to play for Real Madrid, Hamburg, and Malaga.
Hailing from North Brabant, Ruud van Nistelrooy started his goal scoring career with Den Bosch in 1993. After contributing 13 League hits in 31 matches for The Blue White Dragons during the 1996–97 campaign, the natural born marksman went on to appear for Heerenveen before he decided to join forces with ambitious PSV Eindhoven at the end of the 1997-08 season. As his fame spread, he was eventually brought to Premier League Champions Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson for an estimated transfer fee of £19 million in the summer of 2001. A fast and powerful marksman with a ferocious shot, he was handed his Premiership debut for United in a 3-2 triumph against recently promoted Fulham at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2001-02 season, scoring two of the goals. As a Manchester United player, the industrious central attacker won the Premiership in 2003, the FA Cup in 2004, and the League Cup in 2006. On the final day of the 2005-06 season, however, the Dutchman fell out with Sir Alex and would subsequently leave Old Trafford for Spanish Primera Division side Real Madrid following 95 Premier League goals in 150 appearances for The Reds. After scoring 46 La Liga goals in 68 outings for The Whites, he spent one-and-a-half season at German Bundesliga outfit Hamburger SV before he made a move to Malaga where he finished off his goal scoring career in 2012. An international for the Netherlands, Van Nistelrooy hit 35 goals in 70 games for his nation after making his senior debut for The Flying Dutchmen in a 1-1 friendly draw with Germany at Parkstadion in Gelsenkirchen on the 18th of November 1998. Ruud van Nistelrooy Playing Career: Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Hamburger SV, Malaga. Playing Honours: Dutch Eredivisie 2000, 2001, Johan Cruyff Shield 1998, English Premier League 2003, English FA Cup 2004, English FA Community Shield 2003, English Football League Cup 2006, Spanish Primera Division 2007, 2008, Spanish Super Cup 2008.