Robin van Persie interviews Erik ten Hag ahead of the Man United’s Europe League tie

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‘It’s great to see you again’: Robin van Persie received a warm welcome in Carrington as the former Manchester United striker interviewed manager Erik ten Hag for BT Sport ahead of the Europa League clash against Barcelona

  • Robin van Persie attended manager Erik ten Hag’s training and press conference
  • Manchester United faces Barcelona this Thursday in the Europa League playoffs
  • The former Red Devils striker became an interviewer for BT Sport ahead of the tie

Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie received a warm welcome from the current squad when the Dutchman visited the club’s training base in Carrington ahead of their Europa League tie with Barcelona.

The Red Devils shared a video of Van Persie being greeted by the team, captioned, “It’s great to see you again.”

Lisandro Martínez and Tyrell Malacia were among the stars who embraced the former United striker, with the latter joining the club in the summer from Feyenoord, where Van Persie works as assistant coach.

Van Persie also spoke to fellow Dutchman Wout Weghorst and former teammate David de Gea.

The visit came ahead of the club’s Europa League playoff second leg against Barcelona on Thursday, with the tie delicately positioned at 2-2.

Robin van Persie received a warm welcome in Carrington on a visit from the former Red Devils star

Robin van Persie received a warm welcome in Carrington on a visit from the former Red Devils star

Van Persie was welcomed by his compatriot Wout Weghorst at the club's training base.

Van Persie was welcomed by his compatriot Wout Weghorst at the club’s training base.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea hugged his former teammate after training.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea hugged his former teammate after training.

Van Persie attended coach Erik ten Hag’s training and pre-match press conference, before conducting an interview for BT Sport.

The interview is expected to be shown in the build-up to the second leg on Thursday.

Van Persie had also been welcomed back to the club in December, to work with the United manager as he prepares to move into management.

He had done final exercises with the youngsters Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri, while working to earn their coaching badges.

The 39-year-old had also been invited to dinner in Manchester by Ten Hag during his trip.

Van Persie had previously been linked with a return to the club in a managerial role under Ten Hag, but revealed that he turned down the move due to his family settling in the Netherlands.

“My son and my daughter are important right now,” Van Persie told the Magazine Life after football. ‘The fact that they have both found their passion is great. A hobby is nice, but you expect them to actually find a passion.

“Dina managed to do that with horse riding, she’s totally into it, and Shaqueel has the same thing with soccer. My wife, Bouchra, is developing all of her talents with our projects and that’s great to see. We are having fun together.

Van Persie attended training ahead of Manchester United's Europa League tie with Barcelona

Van Persie attended training ahead of Manchester United’s Europa League tie with Barcelona

The Dutchman attended Erik ten Hag's press conference before interviewing his compatriot

The Dutchman attended Erik ten Hag’s press conference before interviewing his compatriot

The former striker was the catalyst for the club's last Premier League title in 2013.

The former striker was the catalyst for the club’s last Premier League title in 2013.

“In London, when I played for Arsenal, we moved five times. We also live in Manchester and Istanbul. In total, we were gone for almost 14 years.

‘But then we thought ‘what’s good for the kids now?’ and I felt that a little stability would be nice.’

The former striker enjoyed an impressive spell at Manchester United after joining from Arsenal, scoring 58 goals in 105 appearances for the club over three seasons.

The Dutchman was the catalyst for the Red Devils to win their last Premier League title in 2012-13, scoring 26 times in 38 games.


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