The former Manchester United and Arsenal striker rejected the chance to become part of Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff when the Dutchman quit Ajax to answer an Old Trafford SOS in the summer of 2022
Robin van Persie has been tapping into the genius of Pep Guardiola in his bid to become a top coach.
The former Manchester United and Arsenal striker rejected the chance to become part of Erik ten Hag’s backroom staff when the Dutchman quit Ajax to answer an Old Trafford SOS in the summer of 2022 because he wanted to continue cutting his teeth with Feyenoord’s youth team.
But Van Persie, 40, harbours an ambition to eventually return to the Premier League as a manager – and he was allowed into Guardiola’s inner sanctum last season to cast an admiring eye over how the Catalan was plotting Manchester City ‘s successful chase for the Treble.
Feyenoord boss Arne Slot is a disciple of the City boss – and RVP shares the same attack-orientated philosophy despite his previous history with the red side of Manchester. Van Persie will be granted his UEFA Pro Licence next summer – and there will be no shortage of interest from clubs looking to prise him away from his Rotterdam roots despite the Dutch champions seeing him as the natural successor to Slot.