The legendary Dutch player Robin van Persie has refuted claims that his choice to give his son Shaqueel his senior debut during Feyenoord’s Europa League defeat to Celtic was motivated by sentiment.
The 19-year-old was introduced late in Thursday’s match in Glasgow by the former striker for Arsenal and Manchester United, who is presently Feyenoord’s head coach.
Shaqueel earned his first professional contract in 2022 and has been moving up the ranks ever since. He had previously spent two years with Manchester City’s youth before returning to the Rotterdam club in 2017.
Four days prior, during Feyenoord’s Eredivisie loss to NEC Nijmegen, he was named on the bench for the first time as a senior.
In Scotland, his team was behind 2-1 when he was sent on in the 81st minute, but Celtic quickly scored again to win 3-1.
Van Persie emphasized that the choice was just about trying to save the match and had nothing to do with family relations.
He later stated, “I made that call as a coach, not as a dad because we needed a goal.” “Shaqueel is a player with a variety of scoring options. That’s why I brought him on.
Shaqueel’s father claimed that the teenager had earned the chance via consistent efforts behind the scenes, even if he only managed one attempt inside Celtic’s area during his brief debut.
“From a father’s perspective, it’s always a memorable occasion when your son makes his debut. However, I wasn’t as preoccupied with savoring the occasion as Shaqueel was; instead, I was working,” he remarked.
In my opinion, Shaqueel is a player. A few years ago, when we were already working together, we both agreed to this. In my perspective, Shaqueel handled that quite nicely, and I agree.
Naturally, we will have a good time later when we get home and are proud of one another. I am proud of Shaqueel because, like many players who make their debut, he went through a lot of preparation. He put in a lot of effort, earned it, and found it to be a memorable occasion.
