Robin van Persie Opens Up on 'Ruthless' Louis van Gaal Chat That Led to Man Utd Exit

​Former ​Manchester United and ​Arsenal star Robin van Persie has reflected on Louis van Gaal's role in his sudden exit from Old Trafford. 

The Dutch striker carried United to the title in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season in charge after arriving from rivals Arsenal in 2012, yet the following years were nowhere near as impressive. 

After the arrival of David Moyes, Van Persie saw his game time limited due to injury as United finished a lowly seventh in the league table. Despite the arrival of fellow Dutchman Van Gaal - after the two had worked together at the 2014 World Cup - Van Persie could never rekindle his first season form, and was shipped off to pastures new in 2015. 

In an interview with the ​High Performance Podcast, Van Persie explained: "I had this chat with Louis van Gaal and he told me: 'Ok Robin, our ways will part. I'm the coach, you're the player - you have to go, your time is up'.

"I was like: 'Yeah but I still have a contract?' He said: 'I don't care'," the Dutchman claimed. 

The brutal nature of his dismissal from the Red Devils seemingly came as a shock to the former Feyenoord man, as Van Gaal set out to revamp the side he had inherited from Ferguson and Moyes. 

Van Persie labelled the former ​Barcelona coach 'ruthless', adding: "Towards the end of it, I saw something coming but not this ruthless. And the way he said it as well. And then, like a lot of things go through your mind when you get a message like that.

"I still had a contract, my family was happy, it was my 11th year in England. We love living in England. What's next?"

The Dutch striker would go on to play for Turkish side Fenerbahce before eventually returning to Feyenoord, while Van Gaal and United ultimately parted ways after another testing season in 2015/16.

Source : 90min