Manchester United Appoints Ruud Van Nistelrooy As Assistant Coach Erik Ten Hag

Ruud van Nistelrooy, as assistant coach of Erik ten Hag I (photo: x @man_utd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United have appointed their former striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, as assistant coach Erik ten Hag in another move they hope to restore the Premier League's 20-time winning club. Rene Hake was also hired in an assistant role to complement the coaching team that all came from the Netherlands.

Ten Hag has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Premier League club until 2026 despite a bad season in which United finished eighth in the standings.

"This is the right time to refresh the coaching team as we try to build on the achievements of the last two years and push to the next level," Ten Hag said in a statement.

Van Nistelrooy, 48, scored 95 goals in a 150 Premier League appearance for United between 2001 and 2006 and is the team's top scorer in the Champions League with 35 goals. He also scored 35 goals in 70 appearances for the Netherlands.

As a coach, Van Nistelrooy brought PSV Eindhoven to second place in the Eredivisie and won the Dutch Cup in the 2022-23 season.

"Together with Erik, we are working to strengthen all of our male first-team operating areas, and refreshing the coaching staff is an important part of that," said United sporting director Dan Ashworth.

"It's great to welcome Ruud back to the club where he enjoys a lot of success as a player, and I know that he and Rene will help strengthen the mentality of the win and the high standards we want."

Rene Hake has coached a number of teams in the Netherlands over the past 20 years. Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy have left the coaching staff at Old Trafford.

United's Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek has completed his permanent move to Spanish League club Girona.