MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 21:33:06| >> :60:603:603:

Rio Ferdinand reveals extent of Ruud van Nistelrooy-Thierry Henry rivalry

Rio Ferdinand reveals that former Manchester United teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy often cared more about his Golden Boot battle with Thierry Henry than he did the result.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Ruud van Nistelrooy often cared more about his battle with Thierry Henry for the Golden Boot than he did about the team's results.

Van Nistelrooy was one of the most prolific strikers in Premier League history, netting 95 goals in just 150 top-flight games for the Red Devils from 2001 to 2006.

However, he only won the Golden Boot as the league's top scorer once, with his 25-goal haul in 2002-03 enough for him to pip Arsenal legend Henry to the award by one goal.

Henry scooped the award in all four of the other seasons Van Nistelrooy spent in England, and Ferdinand revealed that the individual battle between the pair was often all the Dutchman cared about.

"You've had all these rivalries over the years, great players need great rivalries. They need rivalries. They should be looking at each other," Ferdinand is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

"Ruud van Nistelrooy used to come in the changing room after a game, trust me, we're trying to win the league, we've beat someone 3-1 or 4-1, he's scored one goal, he'll come in and look up to the TV [shake his head] and go 'ohh'. He sits down, [we'd ask] 'Ruud, are you alright, what's wrong?'. And he'll reply, 'nothing, nothing'.

"Then someone will go, 'Thierry has scored two today, Ruud has only scored one, so he's a goal behind now'. And he's sitting there devastated, and you can see it. I used to sit there and think this guy is mad, we just won 3-1, he's scored a banger, set someone up as well, and he's disappointed."

Henry scored 130 Premier League goals to Van Nistelrooy's 95 during the time both played in the competition.

ID:394670: cacheID:394670:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2786:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Thierry Henry playing for Arsenal
Read Next:
Ferdinand: 'Henry made players shrink in the tunnel'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!