Sports

Manchester United Stabbed Me In The Back — Lois Van Gaal

Published

7 years ago

September 9, 2017

Lois van Gaal says Manchester United went “behind my back” in replacing him as manager with Jose Mourinho in 2016.

The Dutchman, 66, was sacked 48 hours after winning the FA Cup and Mourinho was appointed less than a week later.

“They told me only after it was leaked out, it was the biggest disappointment of my life,” Van Gaal, who was two years into a three-year contract, told Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad.

“United put my head in a noose and I was publicly placed on the gallows.”

United paid out £8.4m to Van Gaal following the departure of the Dutchman and his coaches.

“United did not discuss this with me. If they had come to me with the Mourinho plan then I could have said ‘OK, let’s give it everything for the last six months, complete commitment to each other and the team and then Jose Mourinho can take over’,” he added.

“They could have saved the last year of my salary by doing that but after what happened I made them pay every penny