Robin van Persie accuses Louis van Gaal of forcing him out of Manchester United

Robin van Persie has revealed that Louis van Gaal has forced him out of Manchester United and if not for the manager's insistence he could have spent a few more days at the club.

The former Arsenal man is set to make his way to Fenerbahce where he will be joined by Luis Nani, who has also concluded his relationship with United, in spite of signing a new contract last year.

The 31-year-old was stricken with injuries throughout the length of last season but Van Gaal refused to give him a first-team spot when he was available, and being kept out of the eleven when United were losing against Chelsea in April gave Van Persie the hint that he was no longer wanted at the club.

"That was one of the first signals things weren't going in the right direction," he told the Sunday Times, as quoted by the Mirror.

"I asked to play in the reserves, to get my minutes, but after was on the bench again. The atmosphere changed between me and Louis and people at the club saw it, but I was always professional.

"At that point I didn't think to leave. Bouchra was happy. The kids were happy. I was happy in Manchester."

The striker revealed that he has been through a similar phase with Van Gaal with the Dutch national team where he managed to fight his way back into his confidence. However, he was not given an option in this case and was forced to make a difficult decision over his future.

Van Persie won the Premier League with United in the 2012/13 season after transferring from Arsenal, but failed to hit the strides he did under Sir Alex Ferguson since then.

"He had changed his mind about me before. When he took over Holland he said to me 'You're the No 3 striker.' I was 'O...K...' but I fought and became the No 1 and his captain," he continued.

"But when I came back, it wasn't an honest battle any more. Fighting to get back in the team wasn't given me as an option. He was sending me to Pitch Two. And I'm a mature player.

"I'm not stupid. I didn't get angry or emotional. These things are part of football, part of life. You have to make the best out of any situation so I'm doing this by moving on."