ROBIN VAN PERSIE has revealed a call from Vincent Kompany to pull on an Anderlecht shirt and help out the defender’s struggling side.
Having retired last summer, the 36-year-old appeared at Kompany’s Manchester City testimonial in September as part of the Premier League All-Stars team.
It was there that the City hero eyed up van Persie for a sensational return to the game.
Famously, Kompany did not even play in his own testimonial as he attempted to stay fit for his new club – where he became player-manager at the start of the campaign.
And despite van Persie notching in the 2-2 draw, he felt his body telling him not to abandon his retirement.
The striker told Ziggo Sport: “[Kompany] called me the next day.
“He was convinced that I could help him at Anderlecht.
“I saw it as a nice compliment that he approached me, but I woke up that morning with pain in my calf and I knew I shouldn’t play anymore.”
Kompany was in big need of a helping hand back in September after a dreadful start to life in the dugout.
His Anderlecht side were then teetering on the brink of the relegation zone amid fan protests, before recently pulling into mid-table.
But van Persie, who suffered from calf problems late in his career, found that even a charity game left him in pain.
On the testimonial, he noted: “It was a wonderful evening.
“It was an old-fashioned enjoyment with only top players on the pitch. After 70 minutes I started getting pain everywhere, but I didn’t want to leave the field.”
