BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Former Celtic favourite Pierre van Hooijdonk branded Holland star Robin van Persie “an ****hole” as their feud continued.
A war of words between the Dutch duo erupted last summer when van Hooijdonk suggested van Persie should have been dropped during Holland’s World Cup campaign.
The ex-Arsenal and Manchester United striker, who is now plying his trade with Celtic’s Europa League rivals Fenerbahce, responded furiously, telling van Hooijdonk to “stick to playing golf”.
And the 45-year-old has revealed that van Persie’s comments left him with a low opinion of the 101-times capped forward.
Van Hooijdonk told Dutch television show Derksen &: “I don’t know what his problem is. It says more about him than about me, but I did think for a second: ‘You ****hole.’
“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.
“Obviously he has more problems with me than I with him.”
Van Persie – who arrived at the Sukru Saracoglu in the summer alongside fellow marquee signing from Manchester United, Nani – has struggled to settle at Fenerbahce.
He has scored five goals in 15 outings but has failed to recapture his best form, enduring a fractious relationship with manager Vitor Pereira along the way after snubbing a handshake from his boss earlier this season.
Nevertheless, he will still be seen as a danger-man when Celtic travel to Istanbul for their final, and potentially decisive, Group A fixture on December 10.
