Robin van Persie made a point of praising Manchester United chief Ed Woodward but not manager Louis van Gaal after he was presented as a Fenerbahce player on Tuesday.
Van Persie, 31, completed a £4.7 million move to Turkey and thanked executive vice-chairman Woodward for facilitating the deal.
But while the striker, whose future had been in doubt since the end of last season, said it was no surprise to leave and said there were "no hard feelings," he did not mention Van Gaal.
The two Dutchmen had a close relationship as manager and captain of the Netherlands team that reached the World Cup semifinals last year but Van Gaal dropped the former Arsenal captain from the United team and made Wayne Rooney his first-choice forward.
At his unveiling at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Van Persie was asked if there was any parting message from Van Gaal but only disclosed his farewell meeting with his teammates before praising Woodward for his role in pushing the deal through.
"It was a situation where I could see it coming, if I'm really honest," he said of his Old Trafford exit. "I could get used to the idea for quite a bit. It was not a situation where it was just happening from day to day so I could get used to the situation -- that is football.
"From my side, there are no hard feelings with how it went. It's part of football, it's part of life. I had a good moment with the players the day before I came to Istanbul so that was special. Then you see that everyone really appreciated my time there, that was important for me.
"I highly appreciate the work of Ed Woodward, the CEO of Manchester United. The way he dealt with this transfer is from a high level, it's very classy, he proved he's a true gentlemen in the way he dealt with the whole situation. Ed, if you're listening, thank you!"
Thank you Arsenal and thank you Manchester United. Wish you all the best. pic.twitter.com/Y43uA13Y8j
- Robin van Persie (@Persie_Official) July 14, 2015
Van Persie departed Old Trafford after scoring 58 goals over three years, with 30 of those coming during his maiden campaign in 2012-13 when he fired United to an unprecedented 20th top-flight title in Sir Alex Ferguson's last season in charge.
He was the Premier League's leading marksman in back-to-back seasons between 2011 and 2013, swapping Arsenal for United in-between in a £24 million move.
The Dutchman was seen as the missing piece for United when he joined in 2012 and his goal-laden first term at Old Trafford helped provide Ferguson with a fitting send-off.
However, Van Persie's role gradually diminished under first David Moyes and then his old Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal as a series of injuries hampered him.
And, having signed Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin in recent days, Van Gaal has continued to shake up his squad by offloading the man who was his captain when he took Netherlands to the World Cup semifinals last summer.
Van Persie's exit appears to leave Van Gaal light of options in attack, with Rooney, James Wilson and the injured Javier Hernandez -- out with a broken collarbone and not in the preseason squad out in the United States -- the only traditional strikers in the squad.
Van Gaal has said, though, that Memphis Depay can play as a central attacker.
The finer points of Van Persie's transfer are yet to be confirmed but he hinted he had agreed to terms on a three-year contract at a news conference.
He also confirmed he spoke with other clubs about a move and that while he knew the writing had been on the wall for his United future, he held no grudge against the club.
Van Persie arrived in Istanbul over the weekend to finalise the transfer and he signed forms in front of thousands of fans.
"I'm humbled to see that so many great fans came today to greet me and to welcome me to your family," the Dutchman told the crowd.
"I promise you one thing: I will do everything in my power to help Fenerbahce win as many trophies to make you guys happy because if I see today, I can only imagine how it would be if you win the league what kind of party that would be.
"I hope I can share that with you guys. Let's do it together."