Bust-up that could force Ruud out

United chief David Gill brushed aside transfer talk yesterday, saying Van Nistelrooy, who signed an extension to his Old Trafford contract as recently as January, was 'going nowhere'.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will launch his bid to sign the striker when he and Gill meet at a G14 gathering in Brussels in a fortnight.

Perez is keen to continue his policy of bringing in a superstar signing every summer, especially considering Real's relatively lacklustre season, and has singled out Van Nistelrooy as the man to follow in the footsteps of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham.

Real will hold presidential elections at the end of the season, with the poll pencilled in for July 11, and Perez intends to use the signing of Van Nistelrooy as the cornerstone of his manifesto.

Ideally, Perez would like to have the transfer completed before campaigning starts and is intent on wrapping up his raid for the £ 30millionrated Dutchman before the European Championship begins on June 12.

While United may have to struggle to keep Van Nistelrooy, they have at least pipped rivals Arsenal and Chelsea to Barcelona prodigy Gerard Pique. The 16-year-old centre half is regarded as one of the best young defenders in Europe and his signing will be seen as a coup by Ferguson.

Arsenal were first alerted as they moved to sign the teenager's close friend Cesc from Barcelona last year. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon also tried to sign Pique but hesitated when they were quoted a £ 2.8m compensation package by Barcelona.

United stepped in and were able to exploit a loophole under which Spanish clubs are not allowed to sign players to professional contracts until they turn 18.

The defender, currently on associated forms, has fallen out with coaches at the Nou Camp over his reluctance to commit his long-term future to the club.