United heartache inspired
Ruud
Ruud van Nistelrooy revealed his heartbreak at leaving
Manchester United last summer helped inspire him to finish the
Spanish season as a league champion with Real Madrid and as La
Liga's top goalscorer.
The Dutch striker claimed the title in his first season with Real
on Sunday night as Fabio Capello's side held off the challenge of
great rivals Barcelona to triumph by virtue of a superior
head-to-head record.
Real's victory comes 12 months after van Nistelrooy was
unceremoniously dumped by Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, a
moment that left the prolific striker hurting.
However, van Nistelrooy responded in tremendous fashion by leading
the Liga goalscoring charts with 25 strikes, and the Real hero
explained his pain at leaving United was the driving force behind
his annus mirabilis at the Bernabeu.
"In my first season here having a season like this, winning the
league and finishing top scorer, it is great," van Nistelrooy told
Sky Sports News.
"I couldn't imagine I would have a season like this, scoring 25 in
the league, and I just feel the hard work has paid off with this.
It's great to be part of a team like this.
"It was difficult to leave United to be fair, that broke my heart
but I had to pick things up and I got the motivation to get the
best out of me again and start all over again.
"Now I am just happy that we won and that the season was
tremendous. I just want to thank all the United fans that have
supported me over the last year, and still do."
Van Nistelrooy also paid tribute to fellow United old boy David
Beckham as he signed off before leaving for America with his first
major trophy in Real colours.
Van Nistelrooy added: "The people here are so happy for him, they
adore him and he deserves it."
