"My biggest mistake was leaving Real Madrid"

Striker Van Nistelrooy admits that, although he is more than satisfied with his professional career, he has a thorn in his side. He believes he was wrong to leave Real Madrid in January 2010 for Hamburg.

"I shouldn't have left Madrid then. It was my biggest mistake...", he told 'Overlap'. It still hurts when he thinks about it.

Van Nistelrooy explained that he had accepted his age, but decided to leave in search of playing time so that he could play in the World Cup that year with the Netherlands. "Manuel Pellegrini was our coach and he signed Karim Benzema, Kaka and Ronaldo. There was no more room for me. I accepted it, also because I was 33 years old, but I wanted to go to the World Cup in 2010," he explained.

"I decided to go to Hamburg. I made that decision too quickly if I look back. It wasn't the right time for my family to leave either," he added, still smarting.

On another subject, he said that Alex Ferguson is the best coach he has had in his career. "I spent five years with him. I've never been with a manager for so long. When you look at what he left at United.... He is by far the best," he said.