Van Hooijdonk calls Van Persie an ‘****hole’

Pierre van Hooijdonk has said he thought Robin van Persie was an “****hole” after the two clashed at last summer’s World Cup.

Van Hooijdonk, 45, claimed that former Manchester United and Arsenal striker Van Persie should have been dropped by the Netherlands at last year’s World Cup and said that United were trying to force him out of the club.

Fenerbahce forward Van Persie, who scored four times as the Dutch finished third in Brazil, responded at the time telling his former Feyenoord team-mate to “stop creating problems” and “stick to playing golf”.

And now Van Hooijdonk has responded by claiming Van Persie has a problem with him.

“Obviously he has more problems with me than I with him,” Van Hooijdonk told TV show Derksen &.

“I may have been too soft on him, so people could not say I wanted to take revenge on him when I reacted back then.

“I don’t know what his problem is. This says more about him than about me, but I did think for a second: you ****hole.”

Earlier this month Holland coach Danny Blind denied that Van Persie was benched against Kazakhstan after a row with Memphis Depay.

Van Persie was involved in an incident with current Old Trafford star Memphis ahead of Holland’s Euro 2016 qualifying win over Kazakhstan.