Ruud van Nistelrooy has jokingly revealed his ‘problem’ with Jamie Vardy in his first Leicester City press conference.
Van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper last week, penning a deal until 2027.
It’s his second job of his budding managerial career, having taken charge of PSV Eindhoven and comes after his interim stint at Manchester United.
On Monday, Van Nistelrooy conducted his first press conference as Leicester boss and was asked about star player Vardy, who broke the former Man United forward’s Premier League record nine years ago.
During Leicester’s title-winning campaign, Vardy broke Van Nistelrooy’s record as he became the first player to score in 11 consecutive league matches.
And the legendary Dutchman joked that he has ‘problem’ on his hands and revealed his conversation with the 37-year-old Englishman.
The 48-year-old said: “It’s a problem, of course, that he broke my record!
“I told him straight away ‘we have a big issue we need to get out of the way before we can even start together’.
“I think I beat him to it. Of course, back in the day I made a tweet about breaking the record and wishing him well, and then nine years later – it’s weird how things go sometimes.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy speaks during his first Leicester City press conference. Image: Getty
In his first presser since his Leicester appointment, Van Nistelrooy also said he was ‘astonished’ by the amount of interest in him after his brief managerial spell at Old Trafford.
“I have to say there were offers there and possibilities. It’s good to have them and look and be critical on where you’re going to work,” he added.
“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.”
