Van Nistelrooy to prolong, Sneijder feeling strain

Dutch international forward Ruud van Nistelrooy is to prolong his Real Madrid contract until 2010, Spanish sports daily AS said on Friday.

The 31-year-old, in his second season at the nine-time European champions, has a contract until the end of the season with an option for an extra year.

But it is believed the club's sporting director Predrag Mijatovic should offer the extension to a player who impressed in his first season since transferring from Manchester United, scoring 25 league goals as Real won the title last season.

Meanwhile, fellow Dutch international, midfielder Wesley Sneijder is said to be finding the stress of life at the Madrid giants difficult to cope with, also accoridng to AS.

"I feel stressed by the pressure of my responsibilities," he is said to have told coaches in the Netherlands.

AS also claims that Sneijder is going to undergo therapy to try to rediscover his confidence, and with it the early season form he has since lost.

The 23-year-old joined Real in the summer from Ajax and put in some sparkling performances early in the season but he has been disappointing recently.