Ruud van Nistelrooy has only been away from the game for about a year and a half now, but he's already on the tried-and-true post-playing career path of television.
The Dutch former Manchester United man will join the American broadcaster as a studio analyst for ESPN's 2014 World Cup coverage in Brazil. ESPN owns the exclusive broadcast rights for the 2014 World Cup, their last year as the US broadcaster before Fox's $400 million (Dh1.5b) deal for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups kicks in.
The network put a lot of work in bringing the tournament to the once football-shy American market in 2010, and is already hyping up its 2014 coverage.
Van Nistelrooy's name value figures to be another piece of that puzzle.
Here's the full story on the agreement, from the Associated Press:
Gilberto Silva, who helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup, and veteran Dutch player Ruud van Nistelrooy will work as studio analysts during ESPN's World Cup coverage.
The network said Saturday that the duo will appear on pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, as well as World Cup-themed news and information shows throughout the month-long tournament that begins June 12.
Silva and van Nistelrooy join a mix of former pros and national team players working as analysts, including Americans Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman, and Michael Ballack of Germany, Steve McManaman of England and Santiago Solari of Argentina.
The network will announce specific assignments later.
ESPN is going soccer-specific for a new version of its "30 for 30" film series starting in April.
Two feature-length films and six 30-minute documentaries make up "30 for 30: Soccer Stories." Ten vignettes about Brazilian culture also will be sprinkled throughout the network's World Cup programming.
Among the shorter films is "Maradona '86," about the Argentine soccer star who captained his nation to victory that year. Hollywood producer Brett Ratner switches to the sports world to direct "Mysteries of the Jules Rimet Trophy," about a Nazi plan to steal the sports prize from Italy during World War II.