'You don't understand it at all!' - Robin van Persie defends 'extraordinary' Raheem Sterling from 'inappropriate' criticism after dismal Feyenoord debut

Sterling, who moved to De Kuip as a free agent to revive his career, had not played competitive football for several months prior to his Eredivisie arrival. The England international, who joined the Eredivisie giants in a high-profile move from Arsenal, found himself the target of stinging assessments from Dutch pundits following a debut in which he appeared off the pace. Critics, including former Netherlands international Rafael van der Vaart, were quick to suggest that the winger lacked the necessary fitness and explosive speed to compete, even questioning if he could handle the lower tiers of Dutch football in his current state. Van Persie expressed his disbelief that a player of Sterling's pedigree would be judged so harshly after such a brief introduction to a new league.

Van Persie emphasised the need for patience given Sterling's recent history of being frozen out at Stamford Bridge. "I thought it was misplaced. If you look at the context, where he's coming from and what he's already accomplished, he hasn't had any team training for months," the Feyenoord boss said. "I understand there are expectations. What he's done is extraordinary. He's an absolute top player who's won almost everything. To then criticize him like that based on half an hour... I think that's completely misplaced. You really don't understand it at all."

When pressed on when it would be fair to evaluate the England international, Van Persie suggested a much longer grace period than a single substitute appearance. He believes that the external noise is premature and fails to account for the physical demands of transitioning back into professional matches after a long hiatus.

"It's always allowed, but I would say it's better when we are six to eight weeks further along," Van Persie argued. "If you then find that he isn't delivering and you can back up that opinion, then I say: okay you have a point. But throwing out such strong opinions on the basis of half an hour, I think that's inappropriate."

Van Persie is not the only high-profile figure to jump to the 31-year-old's defence in recent days. After an Instagram post labelled the winger "Bambi on ice" and suggested he should retire, Manchester City star Jack Grealish responded with his own post to support his former team-mate. Grealish slammed the social media criticism as "f*cking stupid," highlighting that Sterling had not trained or played at a high level for a significant period. This echo of support from the Premier League reinforces Van Persie's stance that the current narrative surrounding Sterling's fitness is unfairly harsh.

Despite the storm brewing in the media, Van Persie insists that the player himself remains unfazed by the noise surrounding his move to Rotterdam. Having spent over a decade at the top of the English game, Sterling is accustomed to the spotlight. "You hope for a bit more understanding, but I think Raheem doesn't realise it all and doesn't care either," Van Persie noted. "He is used to dealing with criticism, he couldn't care less. He focuses on his own game and his own fitness."

Sterling's integration into the Feyenoord squad has been a gradual process, hampered initially by administrative hurdles. Before he could even step onto the pitch for his debut, the winger faced a frustrating wait due to a delay in obtaining a work permit which kept him out of early training sessions. Now that the paperwork is finalised, the focus has shifted entirely to his physical conditioning. Van Persie remains convinced that once the former Liverpool man finds his rhythm, he will become a vital asset for a side currently chasing PSV at the top of the table.

The player himself has remained humble about his start in the Eredivisie, acknowledging that there is plenty of work ahead to reach his peak form. Following the Telstar match, he admitted he was 'just trying to keep fit' and noted that he was 'building a step at a time' as he adjusts to life in the Netherlands. With a contract that runs until the end of the season, Sterling has a defined window to prove his detractors wrong.