| Full Name: | Ruud van Nistelrooy |
| Age: | 48 |
| Date Of Birth: | July 11, 1976 |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 |
| Place Of Birth: | Oss |
| Nationality: | Dutch |
Leicester City appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy as their latest manager in November 2024. The Foxes also handed the Dutchman an initial three-year contract after opting to sack Steve Cooper.
The King Power Stadium natives struggled to get to grips with Cooper, who was appointed in the summer of 2024 following Enzo Maresca’s departure to Chelsea.
Cooper, 44, lasted five months in the job and won four of his 14 games in charge before being sacked in November 2024. He was then replaced by Van Nistelrooy.
Manchester United was his most recent venture, where the Dutchman was part of Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff before a four-game spell as interim manager after his boss’ sacking. He won three of the four games in charge – two of which were against the Foxes.
Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy’s past coaching career
In terms of managerial experience, Van Nistelrooy is still relatively early into his career.
After retiring from football in 2012 he would go on to join PSV Eindhoven and link up with the Under-17s squad. He would work as a striking coach for the U17 and U19 teams before stepping up to become the U19s manager in 2016.
Alongside his commitments then, the 48-year-old also joined the Netherlands national team to be a part of Guus Hiddink’s coaching team after the 2014 World Cup. Van Nistelrooy also balanced his commitments to PSV with a Netherlands coaching role during Ronald Koeman’s tenure.
March 2022 saw Van Nistelrooy get the first test of his managerial career as he was promoted to the role of manager for the PSV first team.
During his one and only season in charge the Dutch giants won both domestic cups, beating in Ajax in both of those finals. They also came so close to winning the Eredivisie, missing out by one place.
However, due to an alleged lack of support from the club, Van Nistelrooy left his role with one game of the season to go.
Following a brief spell away from coaching the Dutchman would return to coaching with Man United, joining their backroom team.
After the sacking of Ten Hag, Van Nistelrooy was entrusted with leading the team for the next four games and impressed as he won three and drew one. Following Ruben Amorim’s appointment the Dutchman left his position at Old Trafford before being appointed Leicester boss on 29 November 2024.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s coaching career
- Leicester City: 2024-
- Manchester United (interim manager): 2024-2024
- PSV: 2022-2023
- PSV U21s: 2021-2022
- PSV U19s: 2018-2020
- Netherlands (coaching staff): 2020-2021
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s playing career
Leicester City manager Van Nistelrooy is regarded as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time.
After starting his career out at Den Bosch in 1993 he then moved to Heerenveen where his goalscoring exploits attracted the attention of Dutch giants PSV, who bought him in 1997 for a then-Dutch record fee of just over £6m.
He won the Eredivisie twice and looked set to move to Man United in 2000, only for the transfer to be postponed due to a knee injury
One year later he would join on a five-year contract and went on to score 150 goals in 219 appearances for United, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup throughout his time at Old Trafford.
Van Nistelrooy also broke the record for most goals scored consecutively, scoring for 10 games in a row. That record was since taken by Jamie Vardy.
He went on to forge another hugely successful career at Real Madrid before spells with Hamburg and Malaga. Van Nistelrooy would then retire in 2012.
Ruud van Nistelrooy at Leicester City
Leicester City appointed Van Nistelrooy as the latest manager of their first-team in November 2024 on an initial three-year contract after sacking Cooper.
Van Nistelrooy arrived with the Foxes 16th in the table and one point above the relegation zone, however the club had felt they had underperformed.
Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, chairman and majority owner of Leicester City, explained that Van Nistelrooy was the leading candidate who would be vital to guide the club to safety.
Srivaddhanaprabha said: “We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy as Leicester City’s new First Team Manager.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Ruud to Leicester City. He joins a Club with a rich history, passionate supporters, and a talented squad, and we are all excited to see the impact he can have as we embark on this new chapter together.
“Ruud’s experience, knowledge, and winning mentality will undoubtedly bring great value to us, and we look forward to supporting him in achieving success for our fans and our Club.”