Van Persie has been sacked as Feyenoord manager after just 16 months in charge of the Eredivisie club.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United striker guided Feyenoord to a second-place finish and Champions League qualification in his only full season as manager.
Despite securing European football, the club finished 19 points behind Eredivisie winners PSV Eindhoven, raising serious questions about the team’s overall performance level.
Van Persie’s departure comes just two weeks after Devy Rigaux was appointed as technical director and Robert Eenhoorn took over as general manager.
The new leadership conducted a full internal review of the season before concluding that a change in management was the right course of action heading into the summer.
Rigaux acknowledged Van Persie’s contributions while explaining the reasoning behind the decision to move on from the 42-year-old head coach.
“Robin van Persie has given everything for the club over the past 1.5 years. He certainly deserves credit for concluding a difficult season with a final second-place finish. This secured Champions League football, which is of course very important,” said Rigaux.
“We conducted a thorough internal analysis. In this, we took into account, among other things, the development of the style of play and the declining trend in terms of points total, both in Europe and in the Eredivisie.”
“The conclusion was that it is better to start the next season with a new head coach,” Rigaux added, confirming the club’s intention to move forward under fresh leadership.
Van Persie has strong personal ties to Feyenoord, having played for the Rotterdam club across two separate spells at the beginning and end of his career, scoring 46 goals in 122 appearances.
After retiring as a player, he remained at the club in a coaching capacity, initially serving as assistant coach under Dick Advocaat before working with the youth teams.
He departed Feyenoord in May 2024 to take charge of Heerenveen but returned to his boyhood club just nine months later to take on the top job.
As a player, Van Persie spent eight years at Arsenal from 2004, helping the club win the FA Cup during his time in north London.
He then joined Manchester United in 2012 and made an immediate impact, winning the Premier League title in his very first season at Old Trafford.
