Ruud van Nistelrooy talks up 'the right moment' to return to PSV Eindhoven as head coach

The 45-year-old will officially replace current boss Roger Schmidt when his contract with the Eredivisie giants expires at the end of the season.

Former Netherlands striker van Nistelrooy scored 62 goals in 67 appearances for the Eindhoven club between 1998 and 2001 before his high-profile move to Manchester United.

In five seasons at Old Trafford he scored 95 goals in 150 appearances and won the Premier League title in 2003.

"It has always been my dream to be head coach at PSV," the former striker told the official club website.

"I've worked intensively with Toon Gerbrands, PSV's current general manager, the past few seasons."

Van Nistelrooy retired from playing in 2012 and has had two spells as assistant manager of the Netherlands national team, as well as a recent stint in charge of the PSV Eindhoven youth and reserve sides.

He said: "I was convinced I could pursue a professional coaching career and originally thought I needed one more year to gain experience, but sometimes things do go their way and you find out that life is not completely manageable. This is the right moment to take the next step."

Van Nistelrooy won the FA Cup and League Cup with United before joining Real Madrid in 2006.

He scored 46 goals in 68 appearances and won La Liga twice, as well as the Supercopa de Espana, before moves to Hamburger SV and finally Malaga.

PSV Eindhoven have not won the Eredivisie since 2018 but are only two points behind leaders Ajax with only seven games left before the end of the season.

They will also take on Leicester City over two legs in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.

Van Nistelrooy's move follows the appointment by the club of former Everton director of football Marcel Brands as their new chief executive officer from the start of next season.

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