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'He triggered me' | Van Persie on MUFC teammate that brought out his best

Robin van Persie has opened up about winning the Premier League title with Manchester United, and...



'He triggered me' | Van Persie...
Soccer

'He triggered me' | Van Persie on MUFC teammate that brought out his best

Robin van Persie has opened up about winning the Premier League title with Manchester United, and the player that "triggered" him to perform in training.

The Dutchman has been speaking on the UTD Podcast about life at the Old Trafford club, who he lined out with for three years after leaving Arsenal in 2012.

Although it was his first English league title, van Persie says experienced United stars like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were more relaxed about the win.

"I saw Scholes sitting at the back of the bus. He was enjoying it in his own style, but he wasn't like me and other players who were maybe winning it for the first or second time.

"They [Giggs and Scholes] were quiet, you know, but smiling and enjoying it in a different way.

"Through that whole group I could see who had won more than five and who hadn't. Like Buttner, for example! Alexander Buttner, he was partying and he was all over the place [laughs]. That was his first and if see you the difference between Alex Buttner and Giggsy, for example, it was quite funny."

Van Persie also spoke about how Giggs was a constant inspiration to him and his United teammates in training, right up to the end of his playing career.

"Actually, I was doing a show for Premier League Productions with Giggsy a couple of months ago and Steve, the presenter, was talking about my Premier League trophy.

"I was like, 'yeah, okay, but it's enough now, this guy has 13 you know, it's a lot, so that’s enough praise for me, give it to him!' Giggsy, to be fair, he is so genuine and he is so polite, and he just goes along with it. He is an absolute legend, you know. Thirteen Premier League titles!

"He was such a classy player and a fantastic guy. He was one of the players as well who really triggered me to give my absolute best in every single training session.

"Because the stuff he did at 38 and 39 at that time... He was doing some unbelievable stuff in training, like no-look passes, some crosses where you think 'why is he giving that ball?' and then suddenly everything clicks a few seconds later.

"I was really enjoying the training and sometimes I was just laughing, because I was really enjoying the session and the actions from guys like him."

Van Persie also spoke about taxiing around Rio Ferdinand for six months, and how his son reacted negatively to his decision to leave Arsenal at first.

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Read more about

Alexander Buttner Man United Manchester United Mufc Old Trafford Paul Scholes Robin Van Persie Ryan Giggs