Robin van Persie bids farewell to United with “no hard feelings”

Fenerbahçe have signed Robin van Persie from Manchester United - and the player insists he leaves with only fond memories.

The 31-year-old was extremely magnanimous about leaving Old Trafford and all his United chums. "I had a good moment with the players the day before I came to Istanbul so that was special," said the Dutch ace. "Then you see that everyone really appreciated my time there, that was important for me." The fee is thought to be in the region of £4.7m and frees up United's wage bill to pursue other targets. For his part, Van Persie was philosophical about his short Mancunian adventure coming to an abrupt end. "It was a situation where I could see it coming," admitted the striker. "There are no hard feelings with how it went. This is part of football, part of life. I accept that." He was especially appreciative of the "very classy way" in which Ed Woodward conducted negotiations, describing the United chief executive as a "true gentleman". Van Persie scored 58 goals in 105 appearances during his Old Trafford stay. His dream was to win the league title under Sir Alex Ferguson. Both player and fans can look back and agree - mission accomplished.