Rio Ferdinand has revealed Ruud van Nistelrooy's intense rivalry with fellow striker Thierry Henry pushed him on to new heights during his time at Manchester United.

Van Nistelrooy joined Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in 2001 while Henry signed for Arsenal in 1999.

The two forwards led the line for their respective clubs while Manchester United and Arsenal were going head to head for domestic honours in the early noughties.

Ruud van Nistelrooy led the line for Manchester United during the early noughties

Thierry Henry's Arsenal battled Van Nistelrooy's Manchester United for major honours

VAN NISTELROOY VS HENRY PL GOALS Premier League goals only based on spell when both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry played in England: Van Nistelrooy 2001-02: 23 goals 2002-03: 25 2003-04: 20 2004-05: 6 2005-06: 21 Total: 95 goals Henry 2001-02: 24 goals 2002-03: 24 2003-04: 30 2004-05: 25 2005-06: 27 Total: 130 goals Advertisement

And Ferdinand has said former Old Trafford team-mate Van Nistelrooy would not be happy if Henry outscored him on the same matchday – even if Manchester United had picked up all three points.

Ferdinand, quoted in the Manchester Evening News, said of the Dutchman: 'You've had all these rivalries over the years, great players need great rivalries. They need rivalries. They should be looking at each other.

'Ruud van Nistelrooy used to come in the changing room after a game, trust me, we're trying to win the league, we've beat someone 3-1 or 4-1, he's scored one goal, he'll come in and look up to the TV [shake his head] and go "ohh".

'He sits down, [we'd ask] "Ruud, are you alright, what's wrong?". And he'll reply, "nothing, nothing".

'Then someone will go, "Thierry has scored two today, Ruud has only scored one, so he's a goal behind now".

'And he's sitting there devastated, and you can see it. I used to sit there and think this guy is mad, we just won 3-1, he's scored a banger, set someone up as well, and he's disappointed.'

Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games for United before departing for Real Madrid in 2006.

Rio Ferdinand has commented on Van Nistelrooy's intense rivalry with fellow forward Henry

He won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield in England before moving to the Spanish capital.

Henry, who won two league titles during his time at Arsenal, followed Van Nistelrooy to Spain a year later as he joined Barcelona in 2007.

They won two LaLiga titles each before moving on.