Robin van Persie has lifted the lid on the conversations he held with Sir Alex Ferguson after signing for Manchester United - and how he'd been promised the manager would stay for another three years.
Ferguson retired from management in May 2013 after guiding United to their 13th Premier League title, with Van Persie - a new signing that season - playing a huge part.
But the Scot's announcement that he was leaving the job behind came as a shock announcement, to Van Persie and to senior players who had been at Old Trafford for years.
The Dutchman, who had signed from Arsenal at the start of the 2012/13 season admits feeling disappointed that he didn't work with Ferguson for longer.
"(He left) a great void," Van Persie said in an interview with SoFoot.
"Even Ryan Giggs didn't know he was going to stop. Neither (Paul) Scholes nor (Rio) Ferdinand, even if they had worked for him for so many years, they had not seen it coming.
"Just before signing, I asked him, 'What are your plans? How many more years do you stay?' He had told me that he planned to stay at least three more years.
"For me, it was therefore a great disappointment, because I had signed to Manchester United for him.
"This is life, the coaches come and go, the players are transferred. We must move forward.
"But when people saw Sir Alex Ferguson pulling out, everyone knew it was going to be very hard for the club."
United and Van Persie then struggled under both David Moyes and Louis van Gaal for the next couple of seasons. The former Netherlands striker equated the situation to Arsene Wenger's departure from Arsenal, which has seen the club struggle to replicate the legendary Frenchman's achievements since.
He added: "It is similar to the situation of Arsenal with the departure of Arsene Wenger.
"If a man prints a philosophy on such a long duration in a club, inevitably, at the time of his departure, he leaves a huge void. The club and the players need time to recover."
