Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he appeared at Erik ten Hag ’s press conference.
Alongside Raphael Varane, the Dutch boss was previewing the Red Devils’ Europa League clash with Barcelona. Van Persie was an avid listener to what the former Ajax boss said throughout.
Quite what he was doing there was a mystery to some. Having been linked with a coaching role at Old Trafford, his attendance at Carrington was certainly intriguing. The real reason behind Van Persie being there was more innocent . The former forward was scheduled to interview his compatriot Ten Hag on behalf of BT Sport.
Their showdown with Barcelona is set to be broadcast on the channel on Thursday evening so it appears highly likely that the chat will be televised as part of the build-up beforehand. Intriguingly, the interview wasn’t the first time that Van Persie has returned to Manchester to spend time alongside Ten Hag.
The pair were spotted together in December having shared dinner at the Lowry Hotel. The reunion was on a friendly basis with the legendary Dutch forward previously rejecting his countryman following an offer to return to Old Trafford on a coaching basis.
Revealing why he turned down the offer on the Life After Football podcast, he said: “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.
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“Dina succeeded in doing that with horse riding, she's totally into it, and Shaqueel has the same thing with soccer. My wife, Bouchra, is developing all her talents with our projects and that's great to see. We're enjoying ourselves together.''
“In London, when I played at Arsenal, we moved five times,” said van Persie. “We also lived in Manchester and Istanbul. All in all, we were away for almost fourteen years. But then we thought 'what's good for the kids now?' and felt a little stability would be nice.”
Van Persie was also at Carrington the last time he saw Ten Hag during the World Cup break. The United boss invited him to the club’s training centre and took part in a number of training sessions alongside Red Devils’ coach Benni McCarthy - the former Porto star key to Marcus Rashford ’s stunning form this season.
The Dutchman then posed for photographs alongside some of the club’s most promising attacking talents including Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri.
Whether Van Persie returns to Carrington in a more permanent switch in the future remains to be seen but for the time being he is a youth coach for former club Feyenoord - a role he has held since May 2021 after retiring from the game 12 months earlier.
