Danny Blind said he turned down a "fantastic offer" to join Louis van Gaal at Manchester United.

Blind, the father of the United midfielder Daley, is instead to succeed Guus Hiddink as manager of the Dutch national team, signing a contact until August 2018.

“I had a fantastic offer from Manchester United,” he told Algemeen Dagblad.

“There were talks about United and Van Gaal a couple of times last year. But I rejected that. If you have ambition, what is more beautiful than becoming manager of your country?”

Blind was assistant to Van Gaal at last year's World Cup finals then assistant to Hiddink. He had previously captained Ajax and Holland.

Hiddink resigned earlier this week after a disappointing campain in qualifying for the European Championship. He leaves Holland third in Group A, behind the leaders Iceland and the Czech Republic.

“Do I feel confident about qualifying?” said Blind. “We know what we have to do: win four matches, starting with Iceland on 3 September. We can’t afford to lose any more games. But with our quality we are more than able to do it.”

Meanwhile, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Robin van Persie’s former Feyenoord team-mate, has claimed United have been offering the 31-year-old striker to clubs in Turkey.

“As early as January of this year, I received information from Turkey about Robin and Fenerbahce,” the former Nottingham Forest striker said in his Voetbal International column.

“The minute this information came, you knew that United had sent people to test the water for a move.

“Agents and others were searching for big clubs who are prepared to pay the high fee involved for Van Persie. Robin’s contract expires next year, so this is the moment when United can still get money for him.”

The Dutch forward is out of contract next year and has lost his place in the United starting lineup.

(Guardian service)