Newly-appointed Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy has opened up about the numerous offers he received after his brief stint as Manchester United interim manager, Afrosport reports.
Van Nistelrooy, who was appointed last Friday as Leicester’s new manager on a three-year contract, replacing Steve Cooper, confessed he had a couple of other suitors.
The former United and Real Madrid forward briefly handled the Red Devils on an interim basis for four games after compatriot Erik ten Hag was fired but left following the appointment of Ruben Amorim last month.
However, Leicester wasted no time in securing the services of the 48-year-old, and in a chat with Newsmen ahead of his first game in charge, he admitted to having other options on the table.
“I have to say there were offers there and possibilities,” van Nistelrooy stated. “It’s good to have them and look and be critical on where you’re going to work.
“What happened after the games and the amount of interest, the options that all of a sudden were there for me and the options that came along, I was a little bit astonished.
“I went into conversations with Leicester because I thought, having spoken to other people, it was a great opportunity to get to know each other. It was a good feeling and in the end both parties felt it. That was a good reason to start working together.”
Van Nistelrooy also added that he was disappointed to leave United after his short stint ended but said he understands why new manager Amorim wanted to bring his own assistants into the club.
“I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt that I had to leave,” van Nistelrooy continued.
“The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. But in the end I got my head round it because I also understand the new manager.
“I spoke to Ruben Amorim about it, the conversation was grateful, man to man, manager to manager, and that helped a lot to move on and straightaway get into talks with new possibilities which lifted my spirits.”
Matchday minus one in Seagrave 🎞️ pic.twitter.com/QSul70zg02
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 2, 2024
Before joining United last season as Ten Hag’s assistant, Van Nistelrooy steered PSV Eindhoven to the Dutch Cup and finished second in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2022-23.
The former Netherlands international had also garnered coaching experience working with the Under-19s of PSV and as assistant manager of the Dutch national team.
Van Nistelrooy takes over the Foxes, who currently lie 16th in the Premier League standings, a point above the bottom three, and will face West Ham United at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night.
