The former Argentinian international said any enquiry for the Dutch hit-man was "nothing special" after seeing Sir Alex Ferguson splash out a British record fee in a bid to try and revive his side's European fortunes next season, his final year in charge at Old Trafford.
Van Nistelrooy commented: "I only wanted to play for United although Real came in for me.
"They asked about the price only two weeks ago."
However, Real have denied having an interest in beating The Red Devils to the signing of the PSV star, who suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury last year.
"We have an obligation to remain informed about the market, and the conditions of European players that are on the market," Valdano told Marca.
"But it is not anything special.
"Only when someone serves a paper with something official will we have something to comment on."
Meanwhile, Internazionale star Javier Zanetti's agent has denied that Real have made an offer for the Argentinian, but confirmed that other clubs are interested in his client.
