“You’re the only player that’s come to punch me at the end of the game.”
Ruud Van Nistelrooy has owned up to the fact that he once tried to punch Gary Neville after the pair fell out during a Premier League match against Middlesbrough.
It’s not uncommon for team-mates to have a row now and again, but they never usually get close to coming to blows.
Van Nistelrooy has always had a reputation of being a difficult teammate on certain occasions, particularly because he was always so desperate to get on the scoresheet.
Roy Keane also had issue with the Dutch striker, but that was for a different reason entirely, and something that you would expect Keane to be annoyed about.
On this occasion however, Neville gave his colleague a bit of a tongue wagging, and the Netherlands international completely lost it.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, Van Nistelrooy and Neville reminisce about he incident.
Neville started: Do you remember Middlesbrough away? You’re the only player that’s come to punch me at the end of the game.
Van Nistelrooy: Yeah, I do. You gave me a right b*****ing and rightly so.
Neville: You think I was right?
Van Nistelrooy: Yeah, you were right. I didn’t do a lot in that game. That’s what you were going on about.
Neville: I had the ball at right-back –
Van Nistelrooy: And I didn’t show!
Neville: [Gesturing], I needed that little movement –
Van Nistelrooy: And I didn’t because I had an inflamed big toe. Honestly, it was so red and swollen. I was on flip flops travelling to Middlesbrough and I got into my boot before the game, I couldn’t move.
‘You’re the only player to try and punch me!’ 👊
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Neville: I feel sorry for you now.
Van Nistelrooy: You were right, when you play you’ve got to show.
Neville: I put it in and went, ‘F****** move!’ I remember shouting and you went, ‘F*** off’
Van Nistelrooy: I just snapped, I completely lost it. I was then storming in the dressing room and just came up to you.
Neville: I remember I got substituted, I don’t remember if the manager got angry at me, but I went into the changing room and all of a sudden I heard you shouting coming through the door and you were like, ‘I’m going to…’ and I thought, ‘Oh, Ruud’s snapped!’ Everyone jumped in between us.
Van Nistelrooy: My boots were also half a size too small, to really hit it well… What am I going to say? ‘Gaffer, I cannot play, my toe is sore!’
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