Why Robin van Persie was at Erik ten Hag's Manchester United press conference ahead of Barcelona fixture

Robin van Persie is interviewing Erik ten Hag at Carrington for BT Sport ahead of Manchester United's match against Barcelona.

Van Persie was present at Ten Hag's pre-Barcelona press conference on Wednesday afternoon and he watched from the side as the Dutchman answered questions from journalists alongside Raphael Varane, who is set to start Thursday's game.

Agent Kees Vos, who represents Van Persie and Ten Hag, was also standing alongside him during the press conference.

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In December, Van Persie spent a week back at Carrington to work on his coaching badges and he was spotted dining at Chinese restaurant Tattu in Spinningfields, Manchester city centre along with Ten Hag and their agent Vos.

United sources stressed Van Persie was not being lined up to join their coaching staff and that Ten Hag was purely assisting a friend of the club with his career development.

Van Persie joined United from Arsenal in a £24million deal in 2012 and he scored 30 goals in his debut season at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford has 24 goals this term and he's looking to become the first United player to reach the 30-goal mark since Van Persie.

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