Louis van Gaal needed three words to dump Robin van Persie from his Manchester United plans as the Dutchman opens up on what impact that brutal decision had on him. It was Van Persie who fired United to their most recent Premier League title in 2013 before Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
He plundered a division-high 26 goals as United picked up the big one and Sir Alex was, eventually, replaced by a man Van Persie and the football world knew well after David Moyes was sacked 10 months into his reign. The two Dutchmen had spent time together with the Netherlands international team.
However, while they had a pre-existing relationship, Van Persie was unceremoniously deemed surplus by Van Gaal and left for Turkey in 2015. His three years at Old Trafford, following a controversial move from Arsenal, had brought 58 goals and 21 assists from his 105 appearances in all competitions.
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Revealing all to The High Performances Podcast in December 2020, former Netherlands striker Van Persie said: "In my last season, I had a chat with Louis van Gaal - whom I had two very good seasons with the national team with. His first season and my last season at Manchester was not great.
"He told me; 'Okay, Robin, our ways will part. I'm the coach, you are the player and you have to go, your time is up'. So I was like; 'But I still have a contract' and then he said; 'Yeah, I don't care'.
"Towards the end of it I saw something coming, but not this ruthless and the way he said it as well. A lot of things go through your mind when you get a message like that.
"I thought; 'I still have a contract, my family is happy, it was my 11th year in England and we love living in England, what's next'? My kids were still going to school, they have their friends and in a split second all these things come across your mind. How do you react to that?
"I said; 'Okay, we will see what happens, you have your opinion, but I'm happy in England and I still have a contract at Manchester United and my family is [happy], as well'."
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