Exclusive - Manchester United legend Bryan Robson hails Robin Van Persie, claiming: 'He's up there with Ronaldo and Lionel Messi'

Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has heaped praise on Robin Van Persie, claiming the Dutch striker is on a par with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Van Persie has been in devastating form since moving to Old Trafford from Arsenal in the summer, his 16 goals in the Premier League helping United storm to a seven point lead.

Speaking to the Sports Breakfast, Robson said: “When he played for Arsenal you could see he had that bit of class. He could score a goal out of nothing. But since he’s been at United, I’ve appreciated now what all Arsenal fans thought of him because he’s even better than what I thought.

“His awareness, the way he brings people into the game… He creates goals, he scores goals. And they are all sorts of goals as well - left foot, right foot, headers. His touch on the ball is just terffic.

“He is right up there with the Ronaldos and the Messis since I’ve seen him.”

With United at home to Liverpool on Sunday and Manchester City away to Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side could find themselves ten points clear come Sunday evening.

And Robson admits champions City face an almighty task to retain their title, particularly with key man Yaya Toure heading to the Africa Cup of Nations this month.

"I'm going to be interested in the next few weeks to see how they cope without Yaya Toure because he is a massive part of their game," added Robson.

"Even though they have got a lot of very good players in the squad, he is a real top player who can change a game when they need to. It will be interesting to see how City cope without him."

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