Van Nistelrooy wants to move to Madrid, says agent

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s agent has confirmed the Manchester United striker is keen on a move to Real Madrid.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced on Friday the Dutch international had asked to leave Old Trafford with Real and Bayern Munich leading the chase for the 30-year-old.

It appears the Spanish giants have the upper hand, however, with the player‘s representative Roger Linse telling Marca: “We met with Manchester United to tell them Ruud thought that stage of his career was over.

“We know that Madrid want him and the player is also keen to play there.

“Madrid is a dream for any footballer and also for Ruud.”

New Real boss Fabio Capello is certain the former PSV Eindhoven star would be a huge success at the Bernabeu.

Capello, who recently quit troubled Juventus to return to the Spanish capital, told television station Antena 3: “He has scored a lot of goals and he is a striker who can succeed at Madrid.”

Irish international Liam Miller will be also allowed to leave Manchester United once the Red Devils receive a suitable offer.

In two years at United, Miller has managed just 22 first-team appearances and despite the huge number of senior players missing, he was still only a substitute in the opening game of the Red Devils’ current tour of South Africa yesterday.

The 25-year-old spent the latter half of last season on loan at Leeds, as the Yorkshire outfit’s run to the Championship play-off final.

Leeds’ failure to overcome Watford at the Millennium Stadium scuppered any chance of Miller making a permanent move to Elland Road.

But Ferguson has accepted it would be better for all parties if Miller did move on and hopes a deal can be sorted out prior to the August transfer deadline.