David Beckham has hailed the impact Ruud van Nistelrooy has had in his first season at Real Madrid, and believes the Dutchman is an even better player than the one that terrorised opposing defences with Manchester United.
Van Nistelrooy netted twice during Sunday's 3-2 win over Sevilla to take his tally to 20 league goals for Madrid since joining from the Red Devils at the start of the current campaign.
That brace saw the former PSV Eindhoven hitman move to the top of the Primera Liga scoring charts, one ahead of Real Zaragoza's Diego Milito and Fredi Kanoute of Sevilla in the race for the Pichichi (leading scorer in the division).
Beckham, who has played alongside Van Nistelrooy for both United and Madrid, knows as well as anyone what the prolific Dutchman is capable of, and he believes the 30-year-old has continued to improve since leaving Old Trafford.
"It is hard to better what he did and what he achieved at Manchester United but he is a great player who will move on and will get better, and he has proved that at Real Madrid," said Beckham.
Van Nistelrooy`s impressive goalscoring form - he has netted five times in the last three games - is a major reason why Madrid are still in with a great chance of winning the Primera Liga title.
With five games remaining, Fabio Capello`s men are second in the standings, two points behind leaders Barcelona.
"He is a great player, and any great player is very important for any team," Beckham added.
"We`ve known each other for many years now and we`ve played together for many years, and we connect well. But any great player like Ruud is easy to play with.
"His main strength is scoring goals. That`s what he does, that is what he is paid to do. But he also works hard for the team and to have that in the team I think is important."
That brace saw the former PSV Eindhoven hitman move to the top of the Primera Liga scoring charts, one ahead of Real Zaragoza's Diego Milito and Fredi Kanoute of Sevilla in the race for the Pichichi (leading scorer in the division).
Beckham, who has played alongside Van Nistelrooy for both United and Madrid, knows as well as anyone what the prolific Dutchman is capable of, and he believes the 30-year-old has continued to improve since leaving Old Trafford.
"It is hard to better what he did and what he achieved at Manchester United but he is a great player who will move on and will get better, and he has proved that at Real Madrid," said Beckham.
Van Nistelrooy`s impressive goalscoring form - he has netted five times in the last three games - is a major reason why Madrid are still in with a great chance of winning the Primera Liga title.
With five games remaining, Fabio Capello`s men are second in the standings, two points behind leaders Barcelona.
"He is a great player, and any great player is very important for any team," Beckham added.
"We`ve known each other for many years now and we`ve played together for many years, and we connect well. But any great player like Ruud is easy to play with.
"His main strength is scoring goals. That`s what he does, that is what he is paid to do. But he also works hard for the team and to have that in the team I think is important."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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