Robin van Persie: I bear no grudge against Manchester United for selling me

Van Persie was unveiled as a Fenerbahce player on Tuesday at a press conference at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul.

The 31-year-old Dutchman, who joined for a reported £4.7million fee, has been handed a three-year contract with the Turkish giants.

Twelve months ago, Van Persie was tipped to take over the captaincy at United, but manager Louis van Gaal has once again demonstrated his ruthless streak by disposing of a man who scored just 10 goals last season.

Van Persie rejected the opportunity to fire a parting shot at his fellow Dutchman at his unveiling.

"From my side, there are no hard feelings with how it went. It's part of football, it's part of life," Van Persie said.

"I had a good moment with the players the day before I came to Istanbul so that was special.

"Then you see that everyone really appreciated my time there, that was important for me.

"I highly appreciate the work of (executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward.

"The way he dealt with this transfer is from a high level, it's very classy, he proved he's a true gentlemen in the way he dealt with the whole situation. Ed, if you're listening, thank you!"

Van Persie reiterated his thanks to United and former club Arsenal on Twitter.

He wrote: "After 11 great years in the Premier League, I have taken on a new challenge at Fenerbahce...Thank you to all the fans, who have supported me through the years... Thank you Arsenal and thank you Manchester United. Wish you all the best."

Van Persie said he knew he was destined to leave the club.

"I could see it coming, if I'm really honest," he said of his Old Trafford exit.

"I could get used to the idea for quite a bit. It was not a situation where it was just happening from day to day so I could get used to the situation - that is football."

The Dutch striker was met by jubilant crowds when he arrived in Istanbul at the weekend, with Tuesday’s announcement a formality after he had already posed for photographs draped in the club’s scarf.

Van Persie becomes the second player to swap Manchester for Turkey’s largest city this summer, with Nani also sealing a transfer earlier in July.

Joel Campbell, Raul Meireles and Diego – former Arsenal, Liverpool and Werder Bremen players respectively – are also notable new team-mates of Van Persie.

Van Persie will depart Old Trafford after scoring 58 goals over three years, with 30 of those coming during his maiden campaign in 2012-13 when he fired United to an unprecedented 20th top-flight title in Sir Alex Ferguson's last season in charge.

He was the Premier League's leading marksman in back-to-back seasons between 2011 and 2013, swapping Arsenal for United in-between in a £24million move.

The Dutchman was seen as the missing piece for United when he joined in 2012 and his goal-laden first term at Old Trafford helped provide Ferguson with a fitting send-off.

However, Van Persie's role gradually diminished under first David Moyes and then his old Holland manager Louis van Gaal as a series of niggling injuries hampered him.

And, having signed Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin in recent days, Van Gaal has continued to shake up his squad by offloading the man who was his captain when he took Holland to the World Cup semi-finals last summer.

Robin van Persie’s spell at Manchester United had already reached a natural conclusion.

He was signed to win Sir Alex Ferguson the Premier League before the Scot’s retirement; he has now served that purpose at Old Trafford.

His form has tailed off drastically in the last two seasons, with injuries and a rotating manager’s door disrupting his hot streak.

With his 32nd birthday fast approaching, Van Persie has taken the sensible move to wind down his career in a far less demanding league – all while getting paid a similar pay packet.