Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie snubbed Erik ten Hag is favour of staying at Feyenoord and has now been handed the top job as manager of Dutch outfit Heerenveen

Robin van Persie has been appointed the next manager of Dutch side Heerenveen - two years after snubbing Erik ten Hag's offer to join him at Manchester United.

United hero Van Persie has spent the past five years earning his coaching badges with boyhood club Feyenoord, taking charge of their academy teams and helping out with first-team sessions under Arne Slot, who's set to be named Liverpool manager. Having finished his playing career with Feyenoord in 2019, Van Persie wanted to stay in Rotterdam and rejected the chance to become part of Ten Hag's coaching staff.

That decision now appears to have paid off. 10th-placed Heerenveen confirmed on Friday that the ex-Arsenal striker will succeed Kees van Wonderen following their final Eredivisie game of the season away to Sparta Rotterdam this Sunday, despite Van Persie's lack of first-team managerial experience.

Heerenveen technical director Ferry de Haan explained: "Although Robin is at the start of his career as head coach, he immediately convinced us.

Van Persie, 40, said in a statement of his own: "The coaching profession is comprehensive and challenging, and I practice it with great passion and pleasure. I would like to continue my development and the role of head coach fits in perfectly with that goal.

"I am therefore pleased with the opportunity that SC Heerenveen offers me. SC Heerenveen is a very nice Eredivisie club with a rich tradition and loyal supporters. It is a fantastic challenge to contribute to the sporting ambitions and development of the club as head coach."

Your turn! Will Robin van Persie be a success managing Heerenveen? Let us know your prediction in the comments section

Erik ten Hag offered Robin van Persie the chance to be part of his coaching staff ( Image:

"The fact that they have both found their passion is great. A hobby is nice, but you hope that they really find a passion. 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.

"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."

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