Cristiano Ronaldo saga destabilising Real, says van Nistelrooy

Real Madrid's Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy believes that the constant speculation over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo has had an unsettling effect on the team.

Whether Ronaldo will follow Van Nistelrooy's path from Manchester United to the Bernabeu has been an ongoing debate this summer.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is determined to hold on to the Portuguese star, while Real coach Bernd Schuster admitted Saturday that the club have not given up hope of luring Ronaldo.

"It got a bit too far maybe, it is such an issue at the moment in Spain. It gets a bit over the top," Van Nistelrooy told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.

"A couple of our players, they made the comment that there was only talk about him and not about the current team and stars, and everybody's waiting for the next rumour without anything concrete."

Asked whether he expected Ronaldo to stay at Old Trafford for the forthcoming campaign, the Dutchman added: "I think so, if you hear the statements from United. It doesn't really sound like they'll let him go."

Ruud van Nistelrooy: retired from international soccer on Monday:

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Factbox on Netherlands and Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who retired from international soccer on Monday: * Age 32, born July 1, 1976, in Oss, Netherlands.

* Signed by PSV Eindhoven in 1998 for $5 million from Heerenveen. Responded by scoring 31 goals in 34 matches in his first season, the highest in the league and the second highest in Europe. Made his international debut the same season * In 2001 signed a five-year contract with Manchester United for a then British record of 19 million pounds ($37.39 million), having scored 62 goals in 67 league appearances for PSV * Premier League’s leading scorer with 25 goals and 44 in all competitions when United won the championship in 2003. Also went on to become United’s leading scorer in Europe, having overtaken Denis Law’s long-standing record of 30 goals in September 2004 * Fell out with manager Alex Ferguson towards the end of the 2005-06 season but still managed to finish as United’s top scorer with 21 league goals to take his overall club tally in all competitions to 150. * Signed a three-year deal with Real Madrid for a fee reported by Spanish media to be 15 million euros ($23.39 million), going on to help the club win consecutive league titles in 2007 and 2008

* Finished top scorer for Real in his first season with 25 league goals and equalled a club record of scoring in seven matches in succession. He netted 16 league goals last season and extended his contract to keep him in Madrid until 2010 * Ended his international career in August 2008 with 64 caps and 33 goals including four at Euro 2004 in Portugal, one at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and two at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.