Sometimes it pays to have the boss in your corner. Robin van Persie reportedly will not be part of Manchester United's summer tour to the USA after the Netherlands' third-place finish at the World Cup.
According to The Daily Mail, incoming Man. United manager Louis van Gaal – who also coached his last game as manager of the Dutch national team on Saturday – has given van Persie three weeks off after the Oranje's run in Brazil.
That means the Dutch national team captain will miss United's four-match friendly schedule, which includes a stop to face the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl on July 23. Van Persie scored four goals for the Netherlands at the World Cup, tying him for third in scoring overall in Brazil.
"I need that [break]," van Persie is quoted as saying. "It was a tough tournament. Every match I gave it my all. That was just it, more wasn't possible."
Manchester United last week released a preliminary list of players joining the club on the upcoming US tour, including forward Wayne Rooney, goalkeeper David de Gea and midfielders Shinji Kagawa and Juan Mata. Other names – including, presumably, Mexican national team star Javier "Chicharito" Hernández – will be released in the upcoming weeks.
After the opening match against the Galaxy, United will then take part in the exhibition International Champions Cup, facing AS Roma in Denver (July 26), Inter Milan in Landover, Md. (July 29) and Real Madrid in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Aug. 2). If United make the final of the competition, the preseason tour will conclude with the final in Miami on Aug. 4.
