Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has now revealed the real reason as to why he dumped compatriot Robin van Persie this summer, in what was seen by many to be a very callous act.
After having missed large parts of last season through injury the 32-year-old was sold to Turkish giants Fenerbahce for a cut-price £4.7 million following a severe dip in form that saw him drop that saw him drop from scoring 30 goals in his first season at Old Trafford to 18 goals, and then finally 10 last season.
According to the 63-year-old Dutchman van Gaal, he told van Persie his time at Old Trafford was over back in May while the two were playing golf.
He said: “People have written that Van Persie is my favourite player and that I protected him and, yes, maybe I have done that.
“But in the end you always have to evaluate which players have contributed to our fourth place, which players a little bit and which players no contribution and then you make decisions.
“But you make decisions on facts and not on other things. It is a process. It is what we have experienced in the whole season with each other. You have to oversee all the aspects.”
What the decision came down to was that Manchester performance analysts were of the conclusion that van Persie peaked during his final year at Arsenal and his first year with Manchester United a period during which time he scored an amazing 67 goals.
Now however the sports scientists were of the opinion the 32-year-old would be spending more time out injured than on the pitch, which ultimately made the decision for the Red Devils boss an easy one.
