After Erik ten Hag was recently appointed Manchester United manager, one of his first tasks was to appoint his backroom staff.
Behind every great manager is an excellent backroom team, and Ten Hag recently brought in Mitchell van der Gaag and Steve McClaren to help the Dutchman ahead of next season.
However, one man who did reject an offer to join Manchester United was Robin van Persie, and he’s now given his reasoning behind turning down the opportunity.
“My son and daughter are important right now. The fact that they have both found their passion is great. A hobby is nice, but you hope that they really find a passion,” said Van Persie, speaking to Life After Football magazine (via the Daily Mail).
Van Persie won’t be returning to Manchester United.
After retiring from professional football, Van Persie has chosen to live in his home country, the Netherlands. With a wife and two kids, the Dutchman has decided it’s time to settle in one place, after his playing career meant he was moving countries every few years.
“We’re enjoying ourselves together. In London, when I played at Arsenal, we moved five times. We also lived in Manchester and Istanbul. All in all, we were away for almost 14 years. But then we thought “what’s good for the kids now?” and felt a little stability would be nice,” added Van Persie.
As much as being a footballer brings amazing opportunities and an extremely privileged lifestyle, it can’t be easy for their family having to bounce around between different homes, kids moving schools, and generally not being able to settle into an area.
Van Persie is now comfortable with his family and enjoying his coaching role at Feyenoord, and saw no reason to pack up his bags once again and return to England.