Robin van Persie reveals he was slapped by former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal led the Netherlands to the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-finals where they were knocked out by Argentina. However, the Netherlands went on to finish the global showpiece on a positive note as they beat Brazil in the third-place playoffs by a 3-0 margin. Louis Van Gaal's managerial masterclass from the quarter-final win against Costa Rica did enough to guarantee him an appointment as manager of Manchester United following the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup, but there was one player who had mixed feelings about this - former Manchester United striker, Robin Van Persie.

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Did Van Gaal slap Van Persie? 

In an excerpt from the newly-released book 'LVG – The Manager and the Total Person', Robin Van Persie recalls how the Dutch coach slapped him during their crunch tie against Costa Rica at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The former Arsenal frontman was quoted as saying, “The game went into extra-time and I got cramp. Louis shouted 'I am taking you off.' I turned around and shouted 'no, no, we have penalties soon' but the last 20 minutes were physically really hard for me. He could see that - and steam was coming out of his ears. When the match was finished and we gathered near the touchline, he got close to me and suddenly hit me. Bang! With a big flat hand he dealt me a blow and said in an angry way 'don't ever do that to me again.”

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The Netherlands went on to win in the penalty shootout, courtesy of a brilliant masterclass by Van Gaal and the heroics of Tim Krul between the posts. However, Van Persie was glad he could convert from the spot and avoid his manager's wrath. The former Premier League Golden Boot winner further recalled, “I looked at Van Gaal absolutely stunned. Louis said 'just get on with it and make sure you get it in the net from the spot.' I am glad I managed to put the penalty in the corner. When I look back on that incident, it was a weird moment, but that was Louis for you. Sometimes he can hug a player - and sometimes he can hit you.”

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