Throughout the saga he had hoped the deal would falter, but now van Nistelrooy is looking forward to lining up against Beckham in the Champions League.

“David will be a big loss. We will miss him very much. I can only speak for myself, but I will miss him as a man, as a guy in the dressing-room and as a player on the pitch,” van Nistelrooy told The Sun.

“It is great to play alongside him. But certain opportunities come along and the decision was made.

“I can only wish him the very best for his new career in Spain with Real and the new challenge.

“It was still just speculation when I went to the USA. Yet even there it was front page news, so I followed it all the way.

“Even though it became more and more likely he would go, I was hoping the transfer would not go through. But it has and we must move on.

“Everyone knows about Becks and his right foot. There is a kind of magic that comes out of it, which you rarely see.

“It was fantastic to be with him for two years and that is what I will keep in my mind.”

Van Nistelrooy believes Alex Ferguson’s former number two Carlos Queiroz can make a considerable impact at the Bernabeu too after his arrival as boss.

He added: “I’m happy for Carlos Queiroz, as managing Madrid is a huge opportunity.

“While he could not refuse, I must say it is an extremely big loss for us. He did so much both technically and tactically last season.

“From a human point of view, I learned so much from him. He’s a real friend of mine. Real have made a huge signing in him.”

Now van Nistelrooy is gunning for Beckham, Queiroz and Real.

He added: “I have been the Champions League top scorer for two years in a row. Now the time has come for me to win it instead of just being top scorer.

“Real are not unbeatable. They put us out of Europe last season, but we played almost equally as well as them.

“We will be very competitive again this season in the Champions League and I cannot pick a favourite between us, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan.”

Van Nistelrooy is convinced United will replace Beckham with a world-class player, and said: “The prospect of signing Ronaldinho really excites me. He is the type of player who can fit in very well and is the perfect link between the midfield and strikers. I would also be very happy if Figo joined us.”