Family tradition – Van Persie’s son made his debut under his father’s guidance

Robin van Persie insists that bringing his son Shaqueel on for his Feyenoord debut during the Europa League defeat to Celtic was a football decision — made “as a coach,” not a sentimental gesture.

The 19-year-old striker, who spent two years developing in Manchester City’s academy, returned to Rotterdam in 2017 to follow the same path his father once took. He eventually signed his first professional deal with Feyenoord in 2022.

Now, in early 2025, Shaqueel finally reached the senior squad, making the bench in Sunday’s Eredivisie loss to NEC Nijmegen.

Just four days later, he stepped onto the pitch for his first official appearance, coming on in the 81st minute of the Europa League clash with Celtic. "I made that call as a coach, not as a dad because we needed a goal," Robin explained afterwards. "Shaqueel is a player who can score from all sorts of positions. That’s why I sent him on."

The London-born youngster didn’t have much time to influence the game, managing only one attempt inside the Celtic box. He entered the match at 2–1, and Martin O’Neill’s side struck again just moments later to make it 3–1.

"The way I view Shaqueel is simply as one of the players," Robin continued. "That’s something we agreed on years ago when we first started working together. Shaqueel has handled that dynamic very well — and I believe I have too."