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Earlier this week, Netherland's most prolific striker, Robin Van Persie has stated that he will retire from football after the end of this season. At 35 years of age, Van Persie has felt that the time has come to stop playing the beautiful game.
Having started his career at Dutch Club Feyenoord at the age of 17, the former Arsenal and Manchester United striker will complete a career arc by retiring at the same club next year. It will be an emotional moment for Van Persie as he has been one of Netherland's best players of this generation.
Robin Van Persie came to light when he started his Premier League career with Arsenal. He flourished under Arsene Wenger and his partnership with Cesc Fabregas is still remembered by many of the fans of the London club. He also went on to captain the club in the 2011-12 season and even won an FA Cup title with the Gunners.
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In the 2011 season, he scored an astonishing 35 goals for Arsenal which proved his worth as a replacement to the legendary Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp. However, Van Persie was unhappy at the club due to lack of trophies.
However, Van Persie's Arsenal career came to an abrupt end as he moved to Manchester United in search of major trophies. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Dutchman finished as the highest scorer for the Old Trafford club and also managed to win the Premier League with them.
In the same year, Van Persie won the Premier League Golden Boot award as his 26-goal tally was the highest in the Premier League that season. Van Persie's future at United ended in the next years as he failed to score as many goals under fellow Dutchman Louis Van Gaal. That was majorly due to multiple injuries which Van Persie had to endure. He was eventually sold to Fenerbahce before United signed Zlatan.
After a decent stint with the Turkish Club, Robin Van Persie decided to move to his country Netherlands by opting to play for his boyhood club Feyenoord. He has now decided to retire at the end of the current season. Van Persie won the Dutch Cup with Feyenoord last season and he will be looking to emulate it this season to end his 18-year long career on a high.
With the national team, Van Persie was a regular starter in the front. He has the distinction of representing his national team over 100 times. He has scored 50 goals in 102 appearances for his country.
He played in the highly successful World Cup campaign in South Africa. Though the Netherlands lost the final to Spain, they took a revenge against the Spanish team in the opener of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Van Persie's best goal of his career has been the flying header which he scored in Netherland's routing of
Spain in the 2014 World Cup. Van Persie also won the Euro Championships with the Netherlands team which will remain as the highest point in his national career. The Netherlands has been struggling in recent times and they are yet to find a suitable replacement for the retiring legend.
