The current Feyenoord coach commented on his failed move to Barcelona in a Dutch podcast.
Van Persie, now away from the field and sitting in the Dugout, is the current coach of Feyenoord. The former Dutch striker, who played for Manchester United and Arsenal, is remembered in Spain for that fateful 2014 World Cup in which the national team was eliminated in the group stage after winning the World Cup in South Africa, and that iconic header he scored against Casillas in a match that ended 5-1 . He remembered an anecdote about his failed step to Barça.
In SEG Stories, a well-known Dutch podcast concentrated on the stories of Dutch athletes, the Feyenoord coach, together with a privileged cast of sports figures such as Erik ten Hag, current coach of Bayern Leverkusen, and Kevin Strootman, former player of Olympique De Marseille and Roma among many others. One of the most curious topics that appeared at such a major table was a thorn in the side of Van Persie at the end of his career: played for Barcelona.
The Dutchman confessed his dream to wear the Barça shirt. “I've always wanted to play for Barcelona. In 2015, when I had been playing before Fenerbahçe for a few months, Kees (at the time his agent) told me that Barcelona had about me. It was a very real option.” To his regret, his wish did not come out. “After a while he called me and told me it would not be possible. It didn't happen. The truth is that I really wanted to come to them,” he noticed sadly.
The striker Barça is preferred …
In 2015, when Van Persie's signing over Barça, the manager Luis Enrique and the attacking Trident consisted of the frightening MSN: Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, practically nothing. The Asturian coach was looking for a profile that could let his starting line rest, and the Dutch striker perfectly matched that role. Fenerbahçe, the club where the former Arsenal player played, blocked his transfer because of their high financial requirements in combination with the high salary of the player.
A few months later, a striker arrived with a completely different profile than Van Persie. Paco Alcácer, from Borussia Dortmund, was finally chosen by the sports management of the club to fulfill the role of Back -up Spits. A young prospect that the then 32-year-old Dutchmen has drawn a dream about wearing the Blaugrana shirt. The Spanish striker played 50 games, scored 15 goals and offered 8 assists during his two years in Barcelona.