Van Nistelrooy hits out at Ferguson

Ruud van Nistelrooy has hit out at Alex Ferguson, claiming he "kicked his soul" during their major rift which saw him leave Manchester United last summer to join Spanish giants Real Madrid.

The 30-year-old Dutch international striker joined Madrid for 10 million pounds (14.8 million euros) and van Nistelrooy talked down the Red Devils, claiming Real Madrid were a bigger club.

Van Nistelrooy said in an interview with World Soccer reprinted in the Daily Mail: "United were big, but Real Madrid are on another level. The club has a special allure -- everything about it oozes elegance, style and pure class," and further comments showed his rift with Ferguson still rankles.

"In Spain, we saw a lot of United matches. The first time I watched them, I found myself thinking, "There he is that ******' and that felt good."

The relationship finally broke down for good during United's 4-0 League Cup final win over Wigan last year.

Van Nistelrooy continued: "After an hour we were 4-0 up and I was desperate to go on, maybe score a goal, and be able to lift the trophy. First Kieran Richardson was brought on, then Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, who had only arrived two weeks before."

"I exploded and began swearing at Ferguson because I felt he had kicked my soul. That was the moment things died. After that they could never be good, never be the same again. I find it rather tragic."

"This was the man who visited me in hospital when I had my bad knee injury while I was with PSV. It was because our relationship through the years was so warm that the situation was so painful."