Ruud Van Nistelrooy was regarded as one of Europe's best forwards and demonstrated his skills for scoring goals while playing for Manchester United and Real Madrid. In the summer of 2006, the striker signed with Real Madrid and quickly established himself as one of Ramón Calderón's marquee signings.

In his first season, the Dutchman became the top scorer, helping Real Madrid to have a successful campaign and capture the league title. Overall, the team won two league titles and two Spanish Super Cups during his time at the club.

The current PSV coach spoke with Overlap about his time at Real Madrid and admitted his biggest professional mistake.

“I was with Pellegrini at the time and they signed Benzema, Ronaldo, Kaka, so there was no place for me. I understood, I accepted, I was 33.

“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 shouldn’t have left Madrid, it was the biggest mistake of my career. Also, it wasn’t the right time for my family to leave either.”