Van Persie left boyhood club Arsenal to join the Red Devils back in August 2012 for £22.5m.
Amongst the highly contraversial transfer, Ferguson had reportedly called Arsene Wenger to get the deal pushed through.
United ended up signing the forward and was instrumental in Sir Alex’s final season at Old Trafford as he helped the Red Devils clinch their 20th league title, meanwhile van Persie claimed the golden boot.
And he also revealed that Rio Ferdinand’s claim that Ferguson’s departure affected the striker most of all was true.
The former England defender said Ferguson’s decision to retire “took the wind out of everyone’s sails but the person it hit more than anyone was Robin”.
And Van Persie admitted: “Rio is a great guy. He talks a lot but there is some truth in that.
“My decision to come to Manchester was partly because of the presence of Ferguson, or excuse me, Sir Alex. And he told me he’d stay for another three years. I enjoyed his approach.
“We were once 18 points clear of City but we lost at home 2-1. We were still 15 points ahead but he was furious. Then I realised: he’s a winner.”
The Dutch international has failed to maintain the standard of goal scoring he had under Sir Alex but insists he will find his form again.
“Three goals in nine games is not enough,” he added. “Against Chelsea I had a nice chance and I had three options: chip it, go round the keeper or just [shoot] straight at the goal. I chose the last and safest. If I wouldn’t have thought it over I would just chip it. I just have to trust again in my intuition.”
By Phil Wellbrook
