Van Persie set to seal Feyenoord return

The Hague (AFP) – Netherlands’ record goalscorer Robin van Persie will complete a deal to join Feyenoord from Turkish side Fenerbahce next week, the Rotterdam club announced Friday.

“Robin van Persie will sign a contract with Feyenoord on Monday,” the Dutch club said in a statement, signalling the striker’s return to his boyhood stomping ground.

“Nothing stands in the way of a return from the 102-fold international to De Kuip,” Feyenoord said, adding the 34-year-old former Arsenal captain “reached an agreement with current club Fenerbahce about the dissolution of his contract”.

The ex-Manchester United player was also recalled to the Dutch national team in August, even though he had not donned the national jersey since 2015.

Van Persie’s return is seen as an effort to strengthen Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s faltering Eredivisie champions, who have slipped to fifth in the table this season.

Van Persie remains the country’s top all-time scorer with 50 goals.

He made his debut for Feyenoord in 2002, before moving to Arsenal in 2004, eventually becoming captain in 2011-2012.

He signed for Manchester United in August 2012 for a fee of over £27 million (30 million euros), where he won the Premier League before moving to Fenerbahce in July 2015.

Feyenoord on Friday tweeted a video featuring some of his goals from his first spell at the club, using the hashtag #RVPISBACK and saying “Welcome home, Robin!”.