How Van Gaal Ended My Stay At Manchester United - Van Persie

Robin Van Persie has revealed the ruthless way he was asked to leave Manchester United by Louis Van Gaal.

The former Arsenal captain joined Manchester United in the Sir Alex Ferguson's final season in charge, he led them to their 20th title and also won the premier league golden boot.

After the historic title-winning season, David Moyes was appointed to replace the legendary Ferguson, that was the beginning of the end for Van Persie as he endured torrid time under the former Everton manager, before Van Gaal took over after the World Cup in Brazil.

In my last season, I had this chat with Louis van Gaal,' the 36-year-old said while on Jake Humphrey's High Performance podcast.

'I had two very good seasons with the national team but my last season in Manchester, his first season, was not great.

'I had this chat with Louis van Gaal and he told me: "Alright Robin, I am the coach, you are the player, you have to go. Your time is up."'

'I said I still have a contract but he said "I don't care"'. 'Towards the end of it, I saw something coming, but not this ruthless and the way he said it as well.

'A lot of things go through your mind when you get a message like that, because I still have a contract, my family were happier than they had ever been in England. We loved living in England.

'But what's next? My kids go to school, they have their friends and everything, so for a split second, all of these things come across and how do you react to that?

'I said (to Van Gaal) yes, that is your opinion but I have a contract and I am happy in England, at Manchester United and my family is as well, so we will see what happens.

'So I shook his hand and stood up. It was at the golf club in Mere, so I stood up and left it.

'On the way back home, I was thinking how do you react to a message like that, so ruthless, so hard, so direct. Loads of things went through my mind.

'We started the pre-season and I wasn't allowed to play in the 11 vs 11 match.

Van Persie scored 48 goals in 86 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions.

Van Persie announced his retirement from football in May 2019.