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Ruud admits to rejecting Fulham

22 Apr 2010 - 07:03:56

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Former Manchester United and Real Madrid strikerRuud van Nistelrooy has admitted Fulham made an approach to sign him last summer before he joined current club Hamburg.

The Dutchman, who is expected to line up against the Cottagers in his side's Europa League semi-final first leg showdown on Thursday, opted to join the Bundesliga team for 'sporting reasons' and he has been impressed with the Cottagers' growing reputation on the continent this season.

Speaking to reporters, he said: "Fulham asked Real about me, but did not come up with a concrete proposition.

"The decision to join Hamburg was purely down to sporting aspects. I am still very ambitious and wanted to play for as many minutes as possible this season."

"If we analyse history, Hamburg are better than Fulham, but that means absolutely nothing. Fulham have been a revelation in Europe this season.

"People here think Bobby Zamora is the key to Fulham, but we see how compact their team is and how powerful they are in defence. It won't be easy to break them down.

"They have already had some historic results, like the one against Juventus, and the key to victory will be to stop them scoring in the first leg."