BBC SPORT | MAN UTD | Ruud happy to be at Man Utd

real 56k Click here to see Ruud van Nistelrooy's news conference.

Ruud van Nistelrooy says it is "fantastic" to be joining Manchester United in a British record �19m transfer.

The Dutchman was officially unveiled as a Manchester United player at an Old Trafford news conference on Friday.

And he quickly expressed his delight at signing for the English Premiership champions.

"It feels fantastic," he said.

"Last year I was so close to joining and it was a big disappointment that it didn't come true. This is the best thing that has happened to me.

This is a special day for United and especially for Ruud

Sir Alex Ferguson

"I was always confident I would sign for the club because when you get support from the people here, it made me determined to fight and come back stronger.

"It is a dream to play in this team."

"I want to win the double with my own team and then I will look forward to next season.

"The Premier League is the type of football I like, all the teams want to play and it is open. That fits with my thoughts on how football should be played."

No doubts

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he was always confident that Van Nistelrooy would eventually join the club after the knee injury which halted the deal a year ago.

Ferguson said: "It is a transfer I wanted to see going through. I was hoping he would return to fitness.

"We had some discussion but I knew he would get back all right. I had no fears about that.

"It is a difficult injury, but not a career-threatening injury of say 10 years ago. The recovery record is superb now.

"I was confident about that but you have to go along until the minute he starts playing.

"This is a special day for United and especially for Ruud."

Ferguson also revealed that Van Nistelrooy had slipped through his fingers once in the past.

Ruud van Nistelrooy
Van Nistelrooy will provide attacking options
"We were told about him when he was very young," he said.

"The first real awareness was when my son went to watch Heerenveen and told me to `sign him right away'.

"I said we had to at least have a look at him, so on the Saturday we sent someone to the game and PSV signed him - we were too slow.

"He is here now and that is the most important thing.

"His pace is good, his understanding of the game is good and he scores, which is very important for a striker.

"It is good when you see strikers scoring a variety of goals."

Ferguson added that more signings were possible, but no further deals were imminent.

United chief executive Peter Kenyon said the Van Nistelrooy transfer underlined United's determination to stay at the top.

He said: "This is continuing what is already in place. It is not a knee-jerk reaction.

"But for Ruud's injury he would have been here last year. It demonstrates that Manchester United want to continue at the top of the game. It is an investment for the future."


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