Ruud van Nistelrooy's successful spell with Manchester United came to an end following a disagreement with Cristiano Ronaldo, according to former Labour communications chief Alastair Campbell.

The Dutchman was shown the Old Trafford exit in 2006 after five years at the club, in which time he hit 150 goals in 219 games for the Red Devils.

Van Nistelrooy was a fan favourite at the Theatre of Dreams, but then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson is said to have cut short the striker's time in Manchester due to a falling out with a young Ronaldo.

The claims were made in the ex-spin-chief Campbell's recently-published diaries, which also shed light on Ferguson's decision to reject a move for Franck Ribery.

"The last straw was when he told Cristiano Ronaldo he had found a new dad in Carlos [Queiroz, Ferguson's assistant] just after Ronaldo's dad, who was an alcoholic, had died," Campbell wrote. "Carlos asked him to show respect and he said he didn't respect anyone there.

"He later apologised but CR was not having it. Alex sent Van Nistlerooy home when he heard about it later. He was not sure what he was going to do with him."

Van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid, where he spent four years before seeing out his career with spells at Hamburger SV and Malaga.