Robin van Persie was an instant hero at Old Trafford.
Arriving from Arsenal in the summer of 2012, he was just what the Manchester United faithful needed to lift their spirits.
On the last day of the 2011/12 season, United had been seconds away from their 20th league title, only for some Argentinian bloke to pop up at the death at the Etihad and take the Premier League crown to Manchester City.
With Martin Tyler’s “AGUERRRROOOOOO” commentary still keeping many United fans awake at night, Van Persie agreed a deal to join their club, spouting some weird shit about some little boy inside him telling him to join them instead of City.
Having signed on the dotted line, he banged goals in from the off that season, guiding United to Premier League glory in what was to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge.
Although he stayed on for another couple of seasons at Old Trafford, he couldn’t quite emulate the kind of form that he showed in his first season with the club.
He moved on, signing a deal last year with Turkish giants Fenerbahce – a team that United will now face in the group stages of the Europa League.
United fans were delighted at the news of Van Persie’s return, with many disappointed that his sudden departure last summer denied them the chance to bid him farewell.
https://twitter.com/abhashmufc/status/769198618272083969
https://twitter.com/SemperFiUnited/status/769133879525412865
RvP will rightly receive a rapturous applause on his return to OT
Instrumental in #MUFC's record-breaking 20th title pic.twitter.com/d5KOSkx1yD— Jønathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) August 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/ManUtd1__/status/769153717572689920
So excited to see Van Persie return to Old Trafford. It will be a great occasion to have a wonderful player back. pic.twitter.com/oFL8DOsTLW
— Z 👍🏼 (@Z4YDDD) August 26, 2016
Van Persie will also be facing his first club, Feyenoord, in the group stages.
Feel for Fenerbache fans. Rvp's 3rd favourite team in the group.
— _ (@TenHagd) August 26, 2016
To complete the set, he just needs to make sure his team qualify for the knockout stages and hope that Arsenal finish third in their Champions League group. With a bit of luck, he may then get a return to The Emirates. We doubt he’ll be quite so warmly received there, however.
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