Robin van Persie to Fenerbahce: Four-year-old Manchester United fan bursts into tears at news but campaign started to fly him to Turkey

Louis Diamond was distraught with the news that Van Persie was leaving United but a Turkish hotel owner wants to fly him to see the new Fenerbahce signing

Four-year-old Louis Diamond reacts to Robin van Persie leaving Manchester United (YouTube/Sam Diamond)

A campaign has been started to try and send a four-year-old boy out to Turkey in order to see Robin van Persie in action one last time after he was filmed bursting in tears following receiving the news that the striker was leaving Manchester United.

Van Persie is in Turkey to complete a permanent transfer to Fenerbahce after the Premier League club agreed to sell him for just £4.7m, bringing an end to his three-year stay at Old Trafford.

The news proved too much for young United fan, Louis Diamond, who immediately broke down and burst into tears. His parents filmed the moment that their son reacted to the news, and promptly put it online in a crual-yet-heart-tugging move that is certain to haunt him in years to come.

Watch the video below:

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Louis’s father Sam Diamond – also a United fan – admitted that the chance to embarrass his son in a few years was too good to pass up, though he hopes they can laugh about when he grows up.

“As cruel as it may seem I couldn’t resist getting the phone out,” he said. “My wife and I can’t wait to show it to him in 10 years time when he can laugh along to it.”

However, in the true football spirit, a fundraising campaign has been launched by a hotel owner in Turkey to try and pay for the youngster to fly out to Turkey and see Van Persie in action for his new club Fenerbahce.

“Going to Turkey would be a dream come true,” Sam added. “And seeing Van Persie play for Fenerbahce would be amazing.

“We’re sad to see Van Persie go to Turkey, and they’re excited to have him in Istanbul.

“We could never have expected the level of generosity from our friends in Turkey. We’re flattered by the attention.

Van Persie is in Turkey to complete a move to Fenerbahce (Getty Images)

“We haven’t told Louis that his beautiful crying face has become an iconic image around the world.

"He’s blissfully unaware he’s become an internet sensation.

“As far as he knows we’ve shown the video to a few of his friends, so he’s pretty famous in his own back yard,” he added.

The man behind the campaign is Ragıp Ulaş Altun, a hotel owner in Turkey, who added on his Indiegogo page: “If you really love something, you start crying the moment you get close to losing it. As a child, you haven’t quite grasped the workings of the world yet so it’s even harder [to lose something you love].”

The page has so far reached £539 of the £1285 needed to pay for Sam and Louis’s flights out to see the young boy’s hero in action. You can help fund the campaign here.