LINE DRAWN
How Ruud van Nistelrooy paved the way for a return to Man utd with apology to Sir Alex Ferguson over X-rated attack
He had an impressive record in the English top-flight with Manchester United
WOULD Ruud van Nistelrooy be eyeing a return to Manchester United if he hadn't apologised to Sir Alex Ferguson after their X-rated bust-up?
The former United striker is reportedly on the verge of joining Erik ten Hag's coaching staff after a year hiatus from football.
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The legendary pair fell out after the Dutch striker made the mistake of swearing at Fergie after United won the 2006 League Cup final.
Van Nistelrooy, 47, was left reeling after he was an unused substitute during United's 4-0 triumph over Wigan.
Despite being one of the boss' favourites, Fergie chose to start the game with a strike pairing of Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha.
And according to the iconic manager's book, he was the subject of profanity from the Dutchman.
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This then prompted assistant coach Carlos Queiroz to step in and Fergie to offload the striker for £10.2m to Real Madrid in the summer.
But four years later, Van Nistelrooy found the courage to bury the hatchet by apologising to the Scotsman.
And now the former world class talisman is reportedly set to make a sensational return to Old Trafford by joining Ten Hag's coaching staff.
In 2011 he told The Guardian: "My wife suggested I send Ferguson a text to see if he was willing to talk and when I sent him a message asking if I could ring him he replied to say: 'OK, call me at this date and time.'
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"I rang him and he answered and said: 'OK, fine, go ahead.' I said I wanted to apologise for what had happened.
"And he replied: 'Fine, I appreciate that, when we meet again it will be OK.' That was great to know."
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Van Nistelrooy has been without a job for just over a year after leaving PSV Eindhoven.
He was offered the chance to return to management with Burnley and Club Brugge, as well as clubs in Spain and Germany.
But he has rejected those opportunities to join United as a coach, according to Dutch outlet .
And Ten Hag isn't the only one who could directly benefit from his arrival.
Rasmus Hojlund is the most obvious player in the current squad who would benefit from having Van Nistelrooy as a mentor.
Creating chances for Hojlund was one of United's biggest problems this season- but the Dane still managed to bag 10 goals in his debut campaign.
Van Nistelrooy bagged 150 goals in 219 games for United after joining from PSV for £19m in 2001.
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