A legendary centre-forward with an incredible appetite for goals, he ended up with 150 in 219 games for the Reds.
However, he returns to join Erik ten Hag's coaching team and his work in this field may be lesser known to those in this country.
Van Nistelrooy opted to move into coaching when his stellar playing career ended with a stint at Malaga in Spain.
He started learning the ropes at former club PSV Eindhoven, taking sessions with the Eredivisie side's Under-17s and then worked extensively on the striker department for the younger age groups. In the summer of 2014, he enjoyed the incredible experience of assisting Netherlands boss Guus Hiddink at the 2014 World Cup finals.