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31st March 2023
03:44pm BST
Ruud Van Nistelrooy has owned up to the fact that he once tried to punch Gary Neville after the pair fell out during a Premier League match against Middlesbrough.
It's not uncommon for team-mates to have a row now and again, but they never usually get close to coming to blows.
Van Nistelrooy has always had a reputation of being a difficult teammate on certain occasions, particularly because he was always so desperate to get on the scoresheet.
Roy Keane also had issue with the Dutch striker, but that was for a different reason entirely, and something that you would expect Keane to be annoyed about.
On this occasion however, Neville gave his colleague a bit of a tongue wagging, and the Netherlands international completely lost it.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, Van Nistelrooy and Neville reminisce about he incident.
Neville started: Do you remember Middlesbrough away? You’re the only player that’s come to punch me at the end of the game.
Van Nistelrooy: Yeah, I do. You gave me a right b*****ing and rightly so.
Neville: You think I was right?
Van Nistelrooy: Yeah, you were right. I didn’t do a lot in that game. That’s what you were going on about.
Neville: I had the ball at right-back –
Van Nistelrooy: And I didn’t show!
Neville: [Gesturing], I needed that little movement –
Van Nistelrooy: And I didn’t because I had an inflamed big toe. Honestly, it was so red and swollen. I was on flip flops travelling to Middlesbrough and I got into my boot before the game, I couldn’t move.
Neville: I feel sorry for you now.
Van Nistelrooy: You were right, when you play you’ve got to show.
Neville: I put it in and went, ‘F****** move!’ I remember shouting and you went, ‘F*** off’
Van Nistelrooy: I just snapped, I completely lost it. I was then storming in the dressing room and just came up to you.
Neville: I remember I got substituted, I don’t remember if the manager got angry at me, but I went into the changing room and all of a sudden I heard you shouting coming through the door and you were like, ‘I’m going to…’ and I thought, ‘Oh, Ruud’s snapped!’ Everyone jumped in between us.
Van Nistelrooy: My boots were also half a size too small, to really hit it well… What am I going to say? ‘Gaffer, I cannot play, my toe is sore!’
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