Zeenews Sports BureauArsenal captain Robin van Persie, who has been with the north London club since 2004, confirmed that he will leave the club next season. He has made more than 250 appearances since joining from Dutch side Feyenoord. He had a great season last year scoring 37 goals but Arsenal are without silverware since the FA Cup in 2005. They finished third in the league last season and couldn’t go past last 16 stage of the Champions League after they were eliminated by AC Milan. In an emotional letter to his fans in his official website, the Dutch striker announced his intentions to leave the club. Here is a list of clubs where the striker could land up after his departure from the London club.
Manchester CityEnglish Premier League champions’ interest in the Dutch striker is no secret and one wouldn’t be surprised if he follows the footsteps of Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasri to Manchester City. However, it remains to be seen how much City can offer a player who will be 29 next month. There were reports that they are reluctant to offer more than £20?million because of the player’s age. Interestingly, controversial striker Mario Balotelli reacted to the latest twists by tweeting, "Will Robin move up to us? I would love to play with him.”
JuventusThe Italian Serie A winners lead the chase to sign the star striker but their 10 million euros (£8million) offer has already been turned down. They will have to approach the striker with much more seriousness if they were to obtain the Arsenal striker. However, chances of him going to another league are slim at this stage as he would like to win silverwares in familiar conditions.
Manchester UnitedA known admirer of Van Persie, Alex Ferguson would not want to miss out on a player who netted 30 league goals in the last season. Manchester United, on a bid to win back the league title from rivals City, would persuade the Dutch striker to join the English giants. The big question is whether they can match the big-spending City in their chase of the striker.
Real Madrid`I am grateful to hear about the interest of a club as important as Real Madrid,” Spanish daily Marca quoted the player back in Feb. However, a fury Arsene Wenger hit out at the Spanish media of unsettling the striker. Now that the player himself confirmed that he would not extend his contract at the end of next season would attract interests from the Spanish league champions. However, some suggest Jose Mourinho would look to strengthen his back four than add another to their already strong attacking line-up boasting big names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain up front.
First Published: 7/7/2012 9:40:52 AM