Robin van Persie has claimed that he "could" have still been a Manchester United player had Sir Alex Ferguson not left the club.
Ferguson brought Van Persie to Man United in 2012 and the Dutch striker scored 26 Premier League goals during his first campaign at Old Trafford, which helped land the league title.
The experienced forward's form dipped when Ferguson departed, however, and he left the 20-time English champions in 2015 after struggling under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
Van Persie will return to Old Trafford with Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday night, and the 33-year-old has conceded that things could have turned out differently had Ferguson remained in charge of Man United.
"We will never know. It could have been that I could have been a player for Manchester United today. When I signed that was the idea, that Sir Alex would stay on for a few more years, but in football things change, you can't plan your own path or your coach's path. In this world you have to deal with how it comes," Van Persie told reporters.
Van Persie has scored 23 times in 56 appearances for Fenerbahce, but has managed just one goal this season.
Matt Law
