Ruud van Nistelrooy is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker
for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid. He is currently the
second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals.
He is a three-time Champions League top scorer, as well as a top
scorer in three different European domestic leagues. Van Nistelrooy
started his professional career in 1993 with Dutch second division
side Den Bosch, where he was converted from a central defender to
centre forward after playing part-time for Nooit Gedacht and
Magriet. After netting 12 goals in 31 games in the 1996–97
campaign, he transferred for €360,000 to Heerenveen the next year,
and scored 13 goals in 31 matches in his only season with the club.
Van Nistelrooy joined Real Madrid In 2006. He scored a hat-trick
in his second league match against Levante and, on 12 November 2006,
he scored all four of Real Madrid's goals in a 4–1 victory over
Osasuna. He won the league's Pichichi award with 25 goals as Real
Madrid took home the 2006–07 title, and he also equalled the
longest consecutive scoring streak in La Liga history with seven
straight matches. In January 2008, Van Nistelrooy signed a contract
extension keeping him with Madrid until 2010, with the expiration
date one day shy of his 34th birthday. He underwent ankle surgery
in March, and returned for the El Clásico derby against Barcelona
on 7 May, in which he netted a penalty two minutes after coming on
as a substitute. He finished the season with 20 goals in 32
appearances.
Van Nistelrooy has 64 caps and 33 goals for the Netherlands. His
first tournament was Euro 2004, where he and the Czech Republic's
Milan Baroš were the only players to score in all three group stage
matches. During a 2006 World Cup qualifying match, he scored in the
Dutch's 4-0 hammering of bottom-placed Andorra. At Euro 2008, Van
Nistelrooy scored for the Netherlands in their decisive 3–0 victory
over Italy in the group stage, and scored the equaliser in their
eventual 3–1 loss to Russia in the quarter-finals. On 4 August, he
again announced his retirement from international competition.

Full name: Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelroo?
Date of birth: 1 July 1976 (age 33)
Place of birth: Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands
Height: 1.88m
Playing position: Striker
Current club: Real Madrid
Number: 17