Robin Van Persie is regarded as one of the best European strikers to ever grace the game of football in the 21st century. Having played for clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United, Van Persie had sco...
Robin Van Persie is regarded as one of the best European strikers to ever grace the game of football in the 21st century.
Having played for clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United, Van Persie had scored 144 goals in 280 Premier League matches and was once considered one of the league’s best strikers.
However, van Persie’s career trajectory could have panned out very differently, as the player has recently admitted that he would have loved to play for Barcelona.
Van Persie wanted to play for Barcelona
‘I’ve always wanted to play for Barcelona, and I’ve always hoped it would come true, and I’ve always wondered if it was possible for it to become a reality because it’s a real dream of mine,” Van Persie said, as quoted by journalist Ayim Derrick.
The Dutchman went on to reveal that Barcelona were even interested in his services six months before his move to Fenerbahce.
Robin Van Persie wanted to play for Barcelona (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Van Persie joined Fenerbahce in the summer of 2015, so Barcelona were presumably interested in his services in early 2016.
“I remember there was a brief interest from Barcelona six months after my move to Fenerbahçe and I was hoping the deal would go through,” he said.
Van Persie later added that he was disappointed after his agent told him that the deal wouldn’t happen.
“It would have been great if the move had gone through, but my agent called me and said, ‘It’s not going to happen’,” he revealed.
Van Persie ended up playing for Fenerbahce until 2018, featuring in 87 matches in the process. He returned to his boyhood club Feyenoord in 2018 before retiring from professional football a year later.
The Dutchman currently coaches the Feyenoord senior team – a role that was entrusted to him earlier in the year.
Category: General Sports
