From The Times:
'According to a report in Marca, the Madrid-based daily sports newspaper, Pérez has already obtained "the basis of a definitive accord" with Linse whereby Van Nistelrooy will join Real if the Spanish club can agree a fee with United. Linse last night made light of those claims, saying that "at no time have I spoken to the president of Real Madrid about any agreement for Ruud van Nistelrooy". He said that he would not fuel the fire by taking his denial any farther.
Intriguingly, Van Nistelrooy’s name cropped up again yesterday when Ferrán Soriano, Barcelona’s financial vice-president, was outlining the club’s transfer plans for this summer. "The club will be able to invest €50 million to €60 million (£33-£40 million) in acquisitions," Soriano said. "All is possible, even Van Nistelrooy. There is not any player who is out of our market, only ones that their clubs will not sell, such as (Thierry) Henry — just like we would not sell Ronaldinho."
The clear implication, echoing that of Pérez last week, is that whereas Arsenal would not sell Henry at any price — as was made clear to Chelsea last summer — someone, somewhere, is encouraging the belief that there is a price for which Van Nistelrooy can be bought. Although the player signed a new contract in January and has repeatedly distanced himself from reports that he is unsettled — "it doesn’t matter what people say, I’m staying here", he said at the weekend — the uncertainty is unlikely to go away.
Van Nistelrooy claims that he has not been unnerved by the rumours, but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Since February 14 he has scored only two goals in ten appearances for club and country — both in United’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat of Fulham — and has antagonised Ferguson by questioning the manager’s team selection and by clashing with team-mates on the training pitch on two separate occasions.
Suspicions were raised when Van Nistelrooy was left out of the squad for Saturday’s home defeat by Liverpool, but Linse echoed the party line by citing a thigh injury, which also kept the forward out of Holland’s friendly against Greece last night.'