‘You don’t expect that at the richest club in the world’ – Louis van Gaal goes in hard on Man United board

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Man United finally seem to be getting back on an even keel, but former manager, Louis van Gaal, has let rip at the board for their lack of nous in the transfer market.

It appears that the Dutchman’s ire has been directed towards the club because he was unable to secure any of his top targets whilst he was manager at Old Trafford.

With so much money apparently floating around in the club coffers, van Gaal couldn’t understand the reticence of United’s board to accede to his wishes.

“Manchester United did not have the qualities to become champions and had an outdated team with ten players over 30, five over 35,” he said to Voetbal International, and cited by the Daily Mirror.

“So I told them I was going to rejuvenate and which players should come. I didn’t get one of those.

“Then you end up in a different segment and as a coach you have to push your boundaries. You don’t expect that at the richest club in the world.

“A turnover of £600million and can’t buy the players you need. You should buy number one and not number seven.

“Of course, the selling club also thinks: ‘If you are so rich, you also have to pay the highest amount imaginable for a player.’ That was what happened with transfers.

“Then you have to do with the numbers seven or eight on your wish list. For which you actually pay way too much money, on which the coach is judged and convicted.”

As with Jose Mourinho, van Gaal was a big name that didn’t really enjoy the amount of success with the Red Devils that might’ve been expected.

He was clearly an acquired taste for many, but with an enviable track record from his managerial appointments elsewhere, it’s not clear why he wasn’t backed to the hilt when that was required.

Ultimately, the manager carries the can, and so without his first-choice players in situ, it was inevitable that van Gaal’s stay in Manchester would be a short one.