Robin van Persie reveals truth about move to Manchester United

The Dutchman left Arsenal to join the Red Devils in 2012 in a controversial move.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has claimed that one of the reasons why he moved from the Gunners to the Red Devils, is because the former did not offer him a new deal.

The 36-year-old also took a swipe at former Arsenal chief Ivan Gazidis, and revealed that he now regrets how he left the Gunners although he was not entirely responsible for what happened between him and the club.

Robin van Persie made the controversial switch from the Emirates to Old Trafford for a reported transfer fee of €30.7million in 2012, following an eight-year-long spell for the North Londoners that began in 2004 following a €4.5million move from Feyenoord.

Arsenal fans continue to see his United move as a betrayal, but in a recent interview, the Dutchman insisted that the club did not offer him a new deal. thereby forcing him to part ways with them. He also blamed Gazidis for his exit.

"It was not only between me and Arsene Wenger, but there was also more happening with Ivan of course and the way he behaved and the way he handled the whole situation," Daily Mail quoted him as saying, from his interview with The High-Performance Podcast.

"If I look back at that whole situation, I have to look at myself as well, where I could have done better or could have done something differently. That open letter… I shouldn’t have done that."

"In such a delicate, difficult situation of making a transfer after spending so much time at Arsenal, to make a decision to write an open letter to tell my truth in two pages was impossible."

"And partly it was the fact that Arsenal did not offer me a new deal. So if I look back at that, I should have done that better," Robin van Persie explained before adding, "I can promise you on my kids, if someone comes with proof that Arsenal offered me a deal, I will give you a million [pounds] now, today. It was Arsenal’s decision not to offer me a deal and that is up to them. After many conversations, it became clear that we had different ideas about the club."

"I had seven points where I thought Arsenal could improve and in my opinion those seven points they should start dealing with them straight away to be able to compete with the best teams. It doesn’t really matter what points they are, what matters is that Ivan decided that he didn’t agree with one single point of those seven points – which is fair enough."

"So taking that information on board, Arsenal doesn’t offer me a deal, they didn’t agree with my views – which were only to help, and honest views of how the club should move forward – that is a very clear message," he signed off.

Robin van Persie made 278 appearances for the Gunners and recorded 132 goals and 55 assists across all competitions for them, but turned a traitor for their fans as he moved to Manchester United. He went on to score 58 goals and provide 21 assists in 105 matches for them, and also win his first Premier League title with them in 2012-13, at the end of his ninth successive season in England.