Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Netherlands star Ruud van Nistelrooy has been unveiled as PSV's new coach from 2022-23 onwards, the Dutch side confirmed on Wednesday.
Van Nistelrooy was one of the finest strikers of his generation, scoring more than 300 goals in his career despite repeated battles with injury.
He will now embark on his first senior coaching job at one of the Eredivisie's top sides.
What was said?
"PSV has appointed 45-year-old former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager on a 2025 contract to replace Roger Schmidt, who will leave his post at the end of the season when his contract ends," PSV explained in a statement published on the club's official website.
Van Nistelrooy said: “It has always been my dream to be head coach at PSV.
Next Match
“I’ve worked intensively with Toon Gerbrands, PSV’s current General Manager, the past few seasons.
"I was convinced I could pursue a professional coaching career and originally thought I needed one more year to gain experience.
"But sometimes things do go their way and you find out that life is not completely manageable. This is the right moment to take the next step.”
The bigger picture
Van Nistelrooy's ties with PSV go back a long way.
The forward came to prominence at the club after smashing 77 goals in 90 games between 1998 and 2000, a record which helped them to back-to-back league titles and also prompted United to take him to Old Trafford.
At United and later Madrid, the Dutchman added three Premier League and Liga crowns to his collection and also finished as the Champions League top scorer in three different seasons, though he never got his hands on the European crown.
A serious knee injury in 2008 while playing for Madrid curtailed his career at the top level and Van Nistelrooy hung up his boots four years later after spells at Hamburg and PSV.
He then turned his hand to coaching, spending time as Dick Advocaat's Netherlands assistant and most recently as part of the youth set-up at PSV.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
