Former Manchester United striker Rudd van Nistelrooy has revealed that leaving Real Madrid in 2009 was the biggest regret of his career as a professional footballer.

Van Nistelrooy stated this in the new episode of The Overlap with Gary Neville.

“Pellegrini was our coach, and he signed Karim Benzema, Kaka, and Ronaldo. "There was no place for me anymore,” Van Nistelrooy said.

“I accepted it, also because I was 33 years old. I wanted to go to the World Cup in 2010, so I decided to go to Hamburg. I made that decision too quickly.

“If I look back, I should not have left Madrid; it was the biggest mistake of my career. Also, it was not the right time for my family to leave either.”