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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Robin van Persie retires: Former Arsenal and Manchester United star to call time on 18-year career

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie says he will retire at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old returned to his boyhood club Feyenoord in January and plans to call time on a career that saw him win 102 caps for the Netherlands, scoring a record 50 goals, in the summer.

“When [do] I have to stop? That is probably at the end of this season,” he said.

“I will be 36 years old and will have been a professional for 18 years. From the age of five, I've only been involved in football.”

Van Persie was the key man in Sir Alex Ferguson's final title triumoh (Man Utd via Getty Images)

Van Persie spent 11 years in English football, winning an FA Cup, a Golden Boot at the PFA Player of the Year prize at Arsenal before controversially moving to Manchester United in the summer of 2012.

The striker would score 26 goals to propel United to the 2013 Premier League title but struggled after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson that summer. He would subsequently join Fenerbahce in 2015 before returning to Feyenoord, from whom he had departed for Arsenal.

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