Soccer Rumors: Robin van Persie, Finally, to Sign With United?
Several sources are reporting that Robin van Persie, the Dutch Arsenal striker, may be close to signing, finally, with Manchester United, thus ending a ridiculously trite saga that began when he refused to sign an extension with the Gunners last month. The Mail Online is speculating that RVP will settle for £20m to suit up in red at Old Trafford this coming season. A recent article posited that “United’s long-awaited transfer move nails suggestions, denied by Ferguson in an interview in The Mail On Sunday two weeks ago, that his spending budget had been restricted because of the club’s massive debts incurred by the Glazer family’s takeover.”
Yes, let’s recall that United isn’t in the best financial shape, and that supporters are souring quickly following the announcement that the Glazers would be keeping a lot of the money from the sale of club stock on the New York Stock Exchange, money that many feel should go to servicing the team’s rather sizable and ever-mounting debt.
Perhaps it would be fitting that RVP end up at United, since it’ll just make it easier to root against them, and then his transfer to some team I like won’t spoil my attitude. If anything, it’ll just make Liverpool that much more endearing, especially since they have come out publicly against homophobia in the game and doubly so if they end up signing Texan, rapper, and bass fisherman Clint Dempsey.
Tactically, Sir Alex Ferguson may be looking for an answer to City’s jaw-dropping arsenal of offensive weapons (arsenal, get it?), and certainly RVP would come in handy, especially if Chicharito continues to be plagued by injuries and, I don’t want to say dry spells, but periods of awkwardness or inconsistency. Van Persie, however, has his own baggage and injury problems to consider. Would he be a good fit at United, or could that money be better spent elsewhere? I’m sure the growing number of dissenting supporters have some alternate suggestions for how to invest the cash.
