‘I’ll Be 36 By Then’ – Feyenoord Forward Robin Van Persie Confirms Plan To ‘Probably’ Retire At End Of Current Season

Chris Wright

25th, October 2018

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Robin van Persie has announced that he will probably call time on his career at the end of the current season.

Now 35, Van Persie is back at Feyenoord, the very same club he began his professional career with as a teenager almost two decades ago.

Speaking to Dutch newspaper AD, the veteran forward said:

When will I have to stop? That is probably at the end of this season.

I will be 36 years old and will have been a professional for 18 years. From the age of five, I’ve only been involved in football.

Van Persie also admitted that he “lost the fun” of football for a while after leaving Manchester United to spend a year in Turkey with Fenerbahce.

I do not believe that my return to Feyenoord will have only been successful if we win the title.

I had lost the fun. That’s not how I wanted to end, without pleasure. The fun has returned at Feyenoord.

I want to win as a football player and the KNVB cup win (in 2017/18) was nice, but that is not the measurement between whether it is successful or not.

It’ll be a sad day as and when the time comes, but an 18-year run, along with all the stacking aches, pains and strains, is more than enough for any one player.

Seems like as good a time as any to give this little lot a revisit…

Proving all over again that nobody quite sticks them away like Van Persie sticks them away.