Ten Hag is likened to the 'Prime Minister' of Man Utd
"Every player has a clear idea or goal with each exercise of Ten Hag," Van Persie said on the Man Utd homepage on March 16. "Ten Hag gives me a lot of insight to work with, both in possession and when the opponent holds the ball. I also learned from him how to manage, not only the players, but the club as a whole. Ten. Hag is doing a job as Prime Minister at Man Utd."
In the summer of 2012, Van Persie left Arsenal to join Man Utd. Right in his first season at Old Trafford, the Dutch striker won the top scorer with 26 goals and helped the club win the English Premier League. Van Persie played at Old Trafford for two more seasons, then joined Fenerbahce for $ 4.8 million in the summer of 2015, before retiring from his hometown club Feyenoord in the summer of 2019 at the age of 35.
In May 2020, Van Persie worked as assistant to Dick Advocaat at Feyenoord, where he was in charge of training strikers. A year later, Van Persie was officially appointed as assistant coach and led the U16 team at Feyenoord.
In December 2022, Van Persie returned to Carrington at the invitation of Ten Hag to directly learn from his compatriot while studying for a professional coach's degree. The former Dutch striker always feels welcome at Man Utd, all club members are polite and happy to meet him.
"The first time I met Ten Hag was a few weeks ago, when I was here for two days," Van Persie continued. "It was really the first time and Ten Hag spoke very openly. He wanted to share his knowledge and help a young coach like me. I am no longer playing so I no longer think or dream about impromptu plays. Now I think about tactics and systems and how I can help the club perform at its best, and Ten Hag has given me some new ideas."
Three weeks ago, as a commentator for BT Sport, Van Persie was present at Old Trafford right in the match Man Utd beat Barca 2-1 in the second leg of the Europa League play-off.
Returning to Man Utd and having a behind-the-scenes look helped the 39-year-old player feel the changes of the club under Ten Hag. "Red Devils" have won 32 matches in all competitions this season - the highest number of clubs in Europe's top five leagues. Including a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the English League Cup final to win the first title since 2017.
"Watching Man Utd now gives the fans joy," added Van Persie. "That's what you want as a club, as a manager and as a player. You want to entertain, you want to do good things on the pitch. You can only do that if you're united, and that's what Man Utd is. been doing for the past few months".
This season, in theory, Man Utd still has a chance to eat four. They have won the League Cup and are third in the Premier League with 16 points less than the top of the table Arsenal, while the season has 11 rounds left. Ten Hag's teachers and students have entered the quarterfinals of the Europa League, where they are the number one candidate. In addition, Man Utd is about to play Fulham in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 19.
