Soccer

Ferguson insists the price will be right

Ruud van Nistelrooy has no chance of escaping from Manchester United as long as Alex Ferguson insists on holding out for full…

Thu Jul 27 2006 - 01:00

Ruud van Nistelrooy has no chance of escaping from Manchester United as long as Alex Ferguson insists on holding out for full value for the Holland international.

The striker, who found himself out of form and out of favour last season, is looking to leave Old Trafford after handing in a written transfer request and both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are keen.

However, with United holding out for a fee of £15million, Van Nistelrooy has been forced to return for pre-season training although he played no part in the Red Devils' 3-0 win over Celtic at Parkhead last night.

Real Madrid are believed to have tested United's resolve with a second bid for the 30-year-old, which is thought to be a straight cash deal of around £10million.

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Ferguson told MUTV: "I read it on teletext and I spoke to (chief executive) David Gill and nothing has really materially changed. They've slightly increased it but nothing really you would say - for goodness sake, an increase of about two bob or something.

"We know our value. If we are going to sell Ruud van Nistelrooy we should get the proper value. He is one of the best strikers in the country, one of the best strikers in Europe so when you think about (Andriy) Shevchenko going for
£35million - he's a similar age group.

"But we know our value of the player so at the moment he is a Manchester United player."

Asked if Bayern and Madrid were a long way from that valuation, Ferguson responded: "Absolutely."

Ferguson was happier with the performance of his players on the pitch at Parkhead where a mostly second-string side comfortably dismissed their hosts - with one Celtic fan moved to run on to the pitch to berate his team in person.

The United manager paid tribute to the influence of Paul Scholes, who scored twice. Defender Jonny Evans put the Red Devils ahead after just eight minutes before Scholes struck twice in the second half as the visitors dominated throughout.

The midfielder, reportedly considering coming out of international retirement, has been fighting his way back to health after an eye problem saw him ruled out in January for the rest of the season.