Robin van Persie is aiming for a move into management (Picture: Getty Images)
Robin van Persie has held initial talks with Dutch club Heerenveen over becoming their new manager at the end of the season.
The 40-year-old is yet to take the leap into the hotseat for the first time, but has been building up his coaching CV since 2020.
He initially joined Feyenoord, where he started and finished his playing career, as an assistant and went on to coach the Under-18 and Under-19 sides, which he is still doing.
The former striker also returned to Manchester United earlier this season, completing part of his UEFA Pro Licence as he watched training and speaking to staff.
Clearly he intends to move into management and he may get the opportunity at Heerenveen after Voetbal International report that he has held talks with club director Ferry de Haan.
However, Van Persie is not the only candidate for the role, with another former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy also fancied.
Heerenveen are currently 11th in the Eredivisie, with current manager Kees van Wonderen set to leave at the end of the season.
Van Persie has been working with the youth set-up at Feyenoord (Picture: Getty Images)
Van Nistelrooy might not be a realistic candidate for Heerenveen after an impressive one season in charge at PSV and the likelihood that he will be looking for opportunities abroad.
De Haan knows Van Persie well as they used to play together at Feyenoord in the Netherlands international’s first stint at the club.
Van Persie was approached to be part of Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff at Manchester United when he became manager in 2022, but turned down the chance for family reasons.
‘My son and daughter are important right now,’ Van Persie told the Life After Football magazine in 2022. ‘The fact that they have both found their passion is great. A hobby is nice, but you hope that they really find a passion.
Van Persie worked under Premier League legends Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Dina succeeded in doing that with horse riding, she’s totally into it, and Shaqueel has the same thing with soccer. My wife, Bouchra, is developing all her talents with our projects and that’s great to see. We’re enjoying ourselves together.
‘In London, when I played at Arsenal, we moved five times. We also lived in Manchester and Istanbul. All in all, we were away for almost fourteen years.
‘But then we thought “what’s good for the kids now?” and felt a little stability would be nice.’
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