Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy had confirmed that Real Madrid were interested in signing him. On 23 January 2011, Hamburg rejected a transfer worth more than €2 million plus a friendly match. President Hoffmann stated that Hamburg were looking to get back into Europe and it would be "impossible" to allow him to leave the club. It became publicly known that Ruud van Nistelrooy wasn't happy about Hamburg rejecting the transfer offer from Real Madrid and he has ruled out a contract extension with Hamburger SV.