Real Back in for Ruud

Real Madrid today upped their bid for Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, but only by £250,000.

Real are believed to have offered £10.25m for the 30-year-old Van Nistelrooy - only slightly more than last week's £10m bid, and still well short of the £15m that United are demanding.

"The club have made a new offer and are waiting for reply from Manchester," a Real spokesman confirmed. That reply is likely to be terse and short: no.

When asked if there had been any change in Van Nistelrooy's situation, Sir Alex Ferguson was clear: "None at all," he told reporters. "At this moment in time, without question he's still a United player."

However Ferguson did praise the Dutch striker for knuckling down in training. "He trained well yesterday," he added. "He had a good attitude to his training, which is good, therefore he's a United player."