Manchester United have finally completed the signing of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for a reported British record-breaking fee of £19m. The Dutchman has signed a five-year contract with the Premiership champions who had attempted to sign him 12 months ago before a knee injury and further damage to his cruciate ligament put the deal on hold. However, van Nistelrooy passed a stringent medical exam in Manchester on Saturday and after some disagreement over the transfer fee, the deal was finally completed this afternoon.
"I am very pleased to have finally signed for Manchester United," said the Dutchman afterwards. "In spite of what has happened in the past year, my feelings for the club have never diminished. It has always been a dream of mine to play for United at Old Trafford, so this move has been a very easy choice for me to make and I look forward to playing for the club next season," he added.
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson was pleased to have completed the transfer. "I am delighted that we have signed Ruud, a player we have admired for some time. The deal underlines our determination to improve the squad at United," he explained. His delight was echoed by United chief executive Peter Kenyon who said: "This is great news for United and all our fans. We are extremely pleased that Ruud has come through his injury problems and can now join us for next season."
The Dutch international has made a full recovery from his injury and was recalled by Holland to the international set-up less than a month after his return to first-team football in March. United have always made known their interest in the striker but following their exit to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week, today's signing came as little surprise. However, van Nistelrooy's arrival at Old Trafford this summer will undoubtedly put the futures of current strikers Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in doubt although Ferguson has insisted he has no plans to sell off any of his squad during the close-season.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
