At long last, Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has completed his move to Real Madrid, the club reported on its Web site earlier today. No details were released about the size of the
transfer but it is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $19 million. This would be well-below United's asking price of $30 million. Nevertheless, the Manchester club confirmed they had given the
United striker permission to travel to Madrid for a medical, but no agreement has been finalized. Van Nistelrooy will have a medical in the morning, which will be followed by an official presentation
to the club at 1 pm ET. Real Madrid's announcement stated that the player will sign on for three seasons; earlier reports said his contract is worth $7.3 million per year, the same salary as David
Beckham. Spanish radio station Cadena SER originally broke the news at midnight. Yesterday, Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson rejected the notion that the club would accept Real's most recent
offer, which he said they had only increased "about two bob or something." Ferguson defended his valuation of van Nistelrooy, comparing him to Chelsea's new signing Andriy Shevchenko, who is of a
similar age and went for $56 million. Once he signs, van Nistelrooy will be Real Madrid's third new player of the summer; former Juventus players Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson were unveiled earlier this
week.
Read the whole story at BBC Sport »
