Ruud van Nistelrooy will know by Tuesday at the latest if he has any future at Manchester United after walking out of the ground rather than appear as a substitute in the club’s final game of the season.
The 29-year-old, scorer of 150 goals in 200 starts for United since joining in a £19-million transfer from PSV Eindhoven five years ago, left the ground before United’s 4-0 victory over Charlton on Sunday after discovering he had been left out of the team.
Teenager Giuseppe Rossi was handed his first Premiership start in preference to Van Nistelrooy who, upon discovering his demotion at a noon, local time, team meeting, stormed out of the ground and went home before a victory which saw United finish in second place and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
”All I can say is that there have been a couple of incidents in training this week that concerned me in terms of the team spirit in the club,” said United manager Ferguson.
”It was such an important game, with us needing to finish second, and we wanted everyone together. In that situation, I felt Ruud should stay out.
”That’s all there is to say at the moment. I will be discussing this with the club directors [Monday] and Tuesday.”
Van Nistelrooy’s relationship with Ferguson has been strained since the end of February when he was controversially left out of United’s League Cup Final victory over Wigan in Cardiff.
Injury to Louis Saha, the man who replaced him at the Millennium Stadium, allowed van Nistelrooy to return to first-team duty at the end of March and the Dutchman had started five of United’s last seven games before Sunday.
In midweek, however, he formed an ineffective strike force with Saha that failed to score in a goalless draw with under-strength Middlesbrough — Van Nistelrooy himself missing a penalty — which jeopardised United’s hopes of clinching second place in the Premiership behind champions Chelsea.
In his programme notes for the Charlton match, Ferguson issued a thinly veiled criticism of the striker.
”If there is a non-trier he deserves to be singled out, and you cannot kid supporters. They are very sensitive to that kind of situation, and so am I,” he wrote.
But van Nistelrooy’s absence had no impact upon United’s performance against Charlton.
Saha’s header, a close-ranger shot from Cristiano Ronaldo and a Jason Euell own-goal put United 3-0 ahead inside 34 minutes with Kieran Richardson’s superb solo effort just before the hour completing the rout.
”It was a really good performance, we knew we needed to win and get second because getting into the Champions’ League directly is so important. But we still needed to do it,” said Ferguson.
For Charlton manager Alan Curbishley, the emphatic defeat marked a sad end to 15 remarkable years in charge of the club, although one solitary result could not detract from his achievements with the south London side.
”Most managers are kicked out the back door but I have been clapped out the front,” said Curbishley.
”What Charlton have achieved over the past 15 years is unique, having the same manager for 15 years is unique, having the same chairperson for 15 years is unique. I don’t think there will ever be another Charlton.”
After injured England striker Wayne Rooney, who has a broken foot, limped around the pitch at the end, as part of United’s end of season lap of honour, Ferguson said he’d have no problems with the forward being included in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s provisional World Cup squad, due to be unveiled Monday.
”Wayne is showing determination to get ready for the World Cup,” said Ferguson, who has in the past criticised the way in which Eriksson has reacted to Rooney’s injury.
”It’s fair enough for him to be named in the squad; I’d do the same if I was Sven. If he gets fit, he has to have him there. We will see how he goes the next couple of weeks.” — Sapa-AFP