Legendary former Man Utd and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie showed Rangers fans what might’ve been as he scored a deadly double in the Weekend of Legends.
The former Dutch international hitman is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and the now 39-year-old forward showed exactly why against a team of Rangers Legends.
Robin van Persie netted two goals and laid on another in a 4-3 World XI victory at Ibrox, but do you know that the striker was close to singing for Dick Advocaat’s Rangers in 2002?
Then turning out for Eredivisie outfit Feyenoord, van Persie revealed in an interview that he almost joined Rangers when they were under the management of the Little General.
“I spoke to Dick Advocaat, who was the manager of Glasgow Rangers and he was interested, I was interested, I was ready to go,” said Robin van Persie.
“But they first needed to sell one player before they could buy me, or something like that.
“I was still very young, maybe 19 or 20, but in the end I went to Arsenal.”
Robin van Persie steals show at Rangers Weekend of Legends
Robin van Persie showed exactly why he made such a name for himself as a player in the Rangers Weekend of Legends clash with an influential Man of the Match display at Ibrox.
Equalising for the World XI with a glancing header, the legendary striker would also slide a perfect pass through for Jack Wilshere to score in the match before pouncing on a rebound to nab the eventual winner in a 4-3 victory.
There was even time to attempt the outrageous with an acrobatic overhead kick effort.
RVP one of his generation’s best strikers
The striker would go on to join Arsenal in 2004 instead and the rest is history as the striker carved out a career for himself as one of the Premier League’s most iconic and deadly strikers.
Signed by Man Utd for a reported £24m in 2012, the Sir Alex Ferguson masterstroke helped win the Red Devils the title and Robin van Persie remains revered at Old Trafford as a result.
Playing 102 times for the Netherlands, the striker also netted 50 goals for his country.
Following a stint with Fenerbahce, Robin van Persie wound up back at Feyenoord but there was still time for yet more Rangers links in his career.
If you cast your mind back to 2016, you’ll remember those high profile Van Persie Rangers links which never materialised.
