Feyenoord has parted ways with manager Robin van Persie after just 16 months at the helm of the Eredivisie club.
The former striker for Arsenal and Manchester United, Van Persie led Feyenoord to a second-place finish and secured Champions League qualification in his only full season as manager, although they ended up 19 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven.
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The 42-year-old’s departure comes just two weeks after the appointments of Devy Rigaux as technical director and Robert Eenhoorn as general manager.
“Robin van Persie has contributed immensely to the club over the last 1.5 years. He deserves recognition for guiding us to a challenging second-place finish and securing Champions League football, which is very significant,” said Rigaux.
“We carried out an in-depth internal review, considering factors like the development of our playing style and the concerning decline in our points total, both domestically and in Europe. The outcome indicated that starting the new season with a different head coach would be best.”
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Van Persie had two stints as a player at Feyenoord, where he netted 46 goals in 122 appearances during both the beginning and the end of his career. After hanging up his boots, he served as an assistant coach under Dick Advocaat and worked with the youth teams.
After leaving to manage Heerenveen in May 2024, he returned to Feyenoord nine months later. During his playing career, Van Persie spent eight years at Arsenal from 2004, winning the FA Cup, before joining Manchester United in 2012, where he clinched the Premier League title in his first season.