The four-word message Mason Mount sent to Ruud van Nistelrooy shows how Man United really feels.

After Ruud van Nistelrooy left Old Trafford on Monday, Mason Mount, a midfielder for Manchester United, gave tribute to the Dutch player.

After Mitchell van der Gaag left, Van Nistelrooy became Erik ten Hag’s assistant manager, which was his first return to United since his controversial departure as a player in the summer. The former striker was thought to be being trained to take over for Ten Hag if Ineos decided to fire the boss.

When the inevitable choice was made, it was clear that Van Nistelrooy was not seen as the successor, but rather as a temporary replacement for a permanent position. Ruben Amorim, the manager of Sporting, was quickly hired by Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the next manager of United. Van Nistelrooy was in charge of four games before Amorim took over on November 11.

When Amorim got to Carrington, he chose to fire Van Nistelrooy and a few other people from Ten Hag’s staff to make room for his own. Several United players have paid respect to Van Nistelrooy for making this tough choice.

Mount was the most recent to tweet about it, on Wednesday evening: I appreciate it, Ruud! “Legend!”

During Van Nistelrooy’s short time as acting manager at Old Trafford, Mount only played one game, coming on in the 82nd minute of the 2-0 Europa League win over PAOK. The former Chelsea midfielder appeared as a replacement but did not play in the 3-0 win over Leicester City over the weekend.