Robin van Persie terms Ed Woodward 'classy', fails to mention Louis van Gaal at Fenerbahce welcome

Robin Van Persie Louis Van Gaal Manchester United Fenerbahce
Robin van Persie & Van Gaal’s relationship deteriorated towards the end of the 2014/15 season

Robin van Persie says that he holds no grudge about the manner of his exit from Manchester United, yet failed to make any mention of manager Louis van Gaal while speaking after being officially unveiled as a Fenerbahce player, according to ESPN. What is sure to stoke the fire about reported problems between the pair is the Dutchman paying tribute to his United team mates and chairman Ed Woodward for felicitating the deal, while snubbing Van Gaal.

The 31-year-old completed his much-awaited move to the Turkish club on Tuesday, bringing his 11-year stint in English football, first with Arsenal and then United, to an end.

Speaking at his unveiling at Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Van Persie said: “I highly appreciate the work of Ed Woodward, the CEO of Manchester United. The way he dealt with this transfer is from a high level, it’s very classy. He proved he’s a true gentleman in the way he dealt with the whole situation. Ed, if you’re listening – Thank you!”

Van Persie revealed that he was happy with his three-year association with United feeling especially delighted at the way his colleagues valued him.

“I had a good moment with the players the day before I came to Istanbul, so that was special. Then you see that everyone really appreciated my time there. That was important to me,” Van Persie said.

Van Persie and Van Gaal enjoyed a fruitful time together while the latter was in charge of the Netherlands national team and it was widely expected that the forward would be made club captain at United. The 63-year-old however decided to go with Wayne Rooney and overlooked his Dutch compatriot on a number of occasions, preferring to go with the Englishman and Falcao up front, leading to talks of a fall-out between the pair.

Van Persie: I knew my time at United was coming to an end

“It was a situation where I could see it coming, if I’m really honest,” Van Persie said. “I could get used to the idea for quite a bit. It was not a situation where it was just happening from day to day, so I could get used to it.”

He added that he does not hold any grudge about the way it all came to an end.

“From my side there are no hard feelings with how it went. It’s part of football, it’s part of life,” the Dutchman added.

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Edited by Staff Editor