Man Utd hero Ruud van Nistelrooy ‘fuming’ at ‘horse’ gag in team’s annual play

Manchester United hero Ruud van Nistelrooy was left "fuming" at a joke in the youth team's annual Christmas play.

The play, an annual tradition, gave the young players a chance to poke fun at the first team stars.

But according to one ex-player, Van Nistelrooy took one dig to heart and "his face dropped".

Daniel Nardiello, who was at United from 1999 to 2005, watched the play alongside big name players including Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and star striker, Van Nistelrooy.

And he said the young lads honed in on Ferdinand and Van Nistelrooy's more prominent features.

He told the Undr the Cosh podcast: “Basically the YTS lads, 16, 17 year olds, had to do a Christmas play, and it was basically just taking the Mick out of all the first team players.

“I think Rio Ferdinand came in… well, not Rio Ferdinand, one of the lads, put his lip up like that, the Neville brothers were coming in doing high steps because they were busy like that, and Van Nistelrooy came in with a shirt and a horse head.

“He's actually got a mask of a horse, and I remember looking at him and his face just dropped, he was fuming, he wasn’t happy with it at all, but…I’m sure he was fine with it but the first team lads got some stick that day.

"As reserve team players, we were like, fair play to these young lads, they've gone to town on the first team lads.”

Asked if Ferdinand was similarly upset, Nardiello added: “He was laughing, he found it hilarious – I think most of them did. They did well, the young lads.”

Nardiello, now 40 and working as a financial advisor, went on to play for clubs including Barnsley, QPR, Blackpool, Rotherham, Exeter, Bury and Bangor. He was also capped by Wales.

Despite Van Nistelrooy's displeasure at the horse jibe, Nardiello said he "was great".

He added: "I loved Van Nistelrooy, he was brilliant, he was nice, he looked after us. He kind of put his arm around our shoulders.

"When we played Holland, he gave me his Holland shirt, he remembered me. He came over to me. I didn’t think he’d remember me, I was at QPR at the time and he came over, smacked me on the back and shook my hand. I asked him for his shirt after the game, and yeah, he was brilliant."

Van Nistelrooy, who scored 95 goals in 150 games for United, went on to play for Real Madrid, Hamburg and Malaga. Now 46, he is PSV Eindhoven manager.

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