Robin van Persie has officially left the Premier League

Robin van Persie has officially left the Premier League after agreeing a mammoth deal with Fenerbahce to play at the Turkish club for the next three years.

The Dutchman had been on the fringes of the Manchester United first team owing to poor form and lack of proper fitness. Even the arrival of Louis van Gaal did not manage to improve his form and he has now been sold for a fraction of the transfer fee that United had for him in the summer of 2012. Van Persie has been playing in English football since 2004 after having moved from Feyenoord to Arsenal.

For several years, the Dutchman had to live in the shadows of Thierry Henry before finally managing to score numerous goals just around the time when he was heading to the peak of his career. Up until that point, van Persie may have helped the talent, but he encountered numerous fitness problems. These appeared to disappear just two seasons prior to his move to United. Immediately upon arriving at Old Trafford, he helped the club win the league title. However, this turned out to be his only eager contribution at United. Van Persie expressed the delight about the welcome that he has received from Fenerbahce fans, who throbbed the airport to welcome him.

"What I'm seeing here is incredible. Thank you for your support. I hope I can make you very happy. It is an honour to see you here," said van Persie. "Previously we reported that we had begun transfer negotiations with Manchester United and the Dutch player Robin van Persie. On the evening of Sunday July 12, he is coming to Istanbul,” read an official statement on the Fenerbahce site. Louis van Gaal had been extremely quiet about the potential transfer of his star striker.