Claims are made by a Dutch coach who has worked with the attacker before.
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie would never have moved to Old Trafford had he known that previous Red Devils head coach Sir Alex Ferguson would retire last summer, according to his compatriot Raymond Verheijen in the Daily Star.
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The Netherlands international only joined the Premier League champions in August 2012 in a deal worth £24m, but Verheijen, who was part of the Oranje coaching at the previous two World Cups, says: “Robin isn’t stupid, he knows exactly how late [in his career] it is.
“For years he was at Arsenal winning nothing, and then he made the move to Man United so at least he could win some things in his career because he was already in his late 20s.
“He had a lot of loyalty to Arsenal and it was difficult for him – it was a painful move. Ideally he would have finished his career at Arsenal winning some trophies.
“He knew that was not going to happen, so he had to make that move. He made a painful, but brilliant move. He had a very successful first year, wins the title and then thinks ‘let’s go for the Champions League now’.
“Then, all of a sudden, Ferguson retires. How do you think he felt?
“If he had known that was going to happen he still would have left Arsenal, because staying there would mean zero trophies.
“He would definitely have moved but would have more than likely gone to Barcelona or Bayern Munich.”