Ruud van Nistelrooy won his first match as Manchester United interim manager
(Image: Getty Images)

Ruud van Nistelrooy sends message straight down camera which leaves Man United fans baffled

by · Manchester Evening News

Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has left fans scratching their heads with his gesture on camera.

After guiding the team to a resounding 5-2 victory against Leicester City in the League Cup quarter-final, the 48-year-old United legend was cool and confident in his media interviews. However, in a discussion with Dutch journalists, Van Nistelrooy perplexingly looked directly into the camera and shaped an 'L' with his hand.

His random hand signal was seemingly aimed at somebody who would have been watching the game. This cryptic action spurred online speculation amongst supporters.

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One confused fan asked: "What's he saying," before another said: "Let's see what will happen on Sunday". One United fan enjoyed his interesting post match interview, saying: "United must give him the job. I know he can do it."

One more confident supporter tweeted: "It sounds like it's for a loved one. But, goddamn, I want it to be for a not-so-loved one."

In England, the 'L' hand gesture is often used to brand someone as a 'loser', but its symbolism varies globally. Elsewhere it can denote 'love' and in other cultures, it's used to say 'later' as parting words.

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His tone and body language suggests he's sending a message to somebody in his family. Speculation aside Van Nistelrooy's commitment to staying at the club in any capacity looks certain.

When asked about his future, he said: "As I said, it's going to be a short job as an interim. That was communicated very clear and I was happy with that.

"I felt that I was called upon to help the club forward in this situation. Obviously, it was difficult, Erik had to leave, I was very disappointed with mixed feelings.

Van Nistelrooy's gesture has left United fans confused
(Image: X)

"But after that, you have to switch the mindset to win because 75,000 people are waiting and celebrating and millions are watching at home.

"That's what we tried to do and the same for Sunday at least, and then after that we'll see."

Van Nistelrooy is expected to be in charge of the Red Devils when Chelsea visit Old Trafford on the weekend.

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