The ex-Netherlands coach has hit out at his former charges, claiming that some players at Old Trafford neglected important messages
Louis van Gaal has hit out at 'unprofessional' Manchester United players, stating that some of the individuals he managed at the club refused to read his emails.
Van Gaal, who spent two seasons at the helm of the Old Trafford side, was not well received by Red Devils fans, who felt the style of football he was producing was not representative of how the club should play.
The club's hierarchy clearly felt the same way, with the Dutchman having been replaced by Jose Mourinho in 2016, a mere two days after the veteran boss had led United to their first FA Cup title in 12 years.
But Van Gaal has revealed that other factors may have been at play during his tenure in England, stating in an interview with German publication Bild that players would often ignore emails that were designed to help track and improve their progress.
“I developed a digital tracker with my IT man,” the 66-year-old said, “Each player was able to log in.
“So I gave everyone the opportunity to prepare for conversations with me at home and to have a dialogue at eye level.
“That's true [that players didn't respond to emails]. This testifies to their lack of professionalism and have them addressed them.
“But I already did that with the emails at Bayern. My conviction is that a full professional also wants to live professionally. Like Arjen Robben – he read the emails.”
On the subject of Bayern, Van Gaal also revealed that he had tried to sign FCB striker Robert Lewandowski during the his time with Man Utd, a move that failed to materialise but perhaps could have seen his legacy at Old Trafford remembered differently.
“[Lewandowski's] price was not a problem for Manchester United, but Bayern did not want to let him go,” he said.
As for what the Dutchman is doing with his time these days, he admits that he is still turning down offers to return to management.
"I have already rejected offers from World Cup participants, most recently also a €25 million offer from China.
"I still get offers every week, which I find incredible.”
Juuenpstu
2
LVG cld have replicated SAF only if he was given one more season I guess we so it coming at the end of his tenure at united where he used the rashfords, martials n the hereras to execute the man city look at where uvr now under yo special one
Arjun1994
1
Van Gaal is a joke
capaciln
2
Man. Utd is top..
nesdkrz
2
plz don't try to let Martial Leave United
Roccdprt
3
I agree with Mr C7 every player have a unique gift from God you just need to work on it .you're the best player at time no matter what.[CR7]
cruijff14forever
3
Dutch Total football is the best of the best. Van Gaal is great manager. World Cup 2018 will be boring without orange Netherlands. Founding fathers of possession game in soccer sport fraternity.
thank u. it hurts us knowing that we are not in rusia. and all other countries used our system and are winnig with it, like spain and germany. I love france to winn the worldcup. u deserve it. viva le blues
Chima92
4
His problem was his Arrogance n stubbornness to change his pattern of football. other than that i liked his willingness n passion to devolop young players...
Africa2373370
1
van Gal is heart broken. Man U broke up with him
Sirhan
1
why is he talking so much about his time at Man Utd recently
Ollie_GGMU
0
The players are unprofessional, simple as that. Over inflated egos. Van Gaal had produced some great footballing sides and this is ignored by the press who wanted Mourinho as he sells papers. If Van Gaal had got the players he wanted, they could have won the league with a lasting legacy. Instead we end up with the bitter anti football mourinho.
I disagree LvG is a fantastic manager but a 3 years contract isn’t long enough to create a legacy, he invests in youth and it takes time for them to develop.
Ghana8217956
0
van gal is better Dan JM by all standard cse no plane by JM plss
Ollie_GGMU
2
Loved LvG never knew what was gonna happen, we could beat city 4-2 then lose to West Bromwich haha
SWEEPERKEEPER
1
Did he first check whether they could read?
Good point.
SfisoEdmand
0
Dutch Total football is the best of the best. Van Gaal is great manager. World Cup 2018 will be boring without orange Netherlands. Founding fathers of possession game in soccer sport fraternity.
Zutbcir
3
Louis Van Gaal has a Great history with Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the Dutch National Team, so hè is/was a Good manager!
landrover
0
Football standards have gone down since the 90s. FACT. Clubs only understand one language. Money. Why don't fans realise that if you stop going to the matches the standards have to go up. It's all in fans control. So stop complaining and make a stand. It's that simple.
CdKeyb
2
The players are unprofessional, simple as that. Over inflated egos. Van Gaal had produced some great footballing sides and this is ignored by the press who wanted Mourinho as he sells papers. If Van Gaal had got the players he wanted, they could have won the league with a lasting legacy. Instead we end up with the bitter anti football mourinho.
Daesewser
3
Did he first check whether they could read?
offlinea
1
The Utd players were a disgrace under Gaal, but it was no surprise when his right hand man Giggs was plotting behind his back. All you Utd fans having a pop at Gaal should remember the majority of the players are still there, still playing the moribund football under Jose too.
Lovelahm
3
Did not like this manager but he is right the lot of them at MUFC are unprofessional since SAF 3 managers cannot get a tune out of them. The club has a lot to answer for here paying ludicrous prices for mediocre players and wiping their backsides in everything they do.If Jose left tomorrow nothing will change the next manager will struggle with them they are a bunch of overpaid and overhyped mercs.
Missouri
0
LVG says he 'developed this system' with his IT man. He means he clicked on 'read receipt' on his email program . LOL.
Jacky2
3
I really miss the days when Man Utd were competitive under SAF, those days seem like a distant memory. The problem Man Utd have is too many average players who are not champions league quality and a manager who prefers to make himself the main attraction by being an idiot in front of the media.
playbra
0
Still can't stop after so long. Never seen such a vengeful man.
Cooper5
0
Played horrible stuff with him in charge and finished 4th and 5th. None of his signings were really successful and he falls out a lot with players. Not entirely unlike Mourinho except with worse results.
flyboat
2
David Moyes was mocked for his uninspired, dull brand of football...he was replaced by a manager who was then also mocked for his turgid brand of uninspiring football....and now his successor is also being mocked for his ........talk about history repeating itself......
gathering
1
I wonder who is he aiming at. Wazza can't read so he's off the hook.
ointmentae
0
Maybe, he should have asked if they can read , might have saved him a lot of time.
tellmey
0
Not surprised in the least. You look at the club with the likes of Lindguard, Smalling etc.. and all you see is mediocrity. These aren¿t top players interested in getting to their maximum potential, they¿re just average, picking up unbelievable money and having a crack on social media. If Utd are truly serious they need to ship out two thirds of the dross they have there and bring In committed professionals who will knuckle down, forget the peripheral stuff and dedicate themselves to the job. Way too many passengers at the moment.
Guevara03
0
You should have sent the messages on Instagram with Emojis,that would have been easier for them to read and understand.
Hgame
1
Are we all suddenly going to agree with Van Gaal now? Regardless, I can't be the only one who wants a name & shame from LvG.
Lorraine
0
We heard something similar either right after or before he was sacked. Of course, most people defended the players at the time.
Tatejuan
0
Where there is smoke, there's fire. All three managers post-Fergie have insinuated that the players didn't bring their best mindset or professionalism to the table. No excuses for either LVG or Moyes, but it's clear some of the players don't give a fuck and their chickens are coming home to roost with Mourinho.
exolove
0
I would love to know who acted so unprofessional
Perfectbr
0
Absolutely ridiculous. This is why I have no issues with the players getting chewed out. We see basically only their good sides, the quotes on social media - you know, 'we go again' kind of nonsense. And here's LVG saying some of them couldn't be arsed to read a fucking email. I've got no issues purging the squad until we have a team of players willing to just do their job like the few other billion people in the world.
Tommylus
0
This is what I meant previously about players thinking they ‘won the lottery’ when signing for UTD
yuyu21
0
Should have used Snapchat or whatever the hot social network was at the time.
inoculate
0
LvG is doing his Festivus airing of grievances early this year.
xvidoeos
0
Sound like 1st year uni students
Billeorck
0
Same thing happened with Emery at Valencia. He'd give each player a pen drive with an individually tailored presentation on what was expected of them for each match. Some players didn't seem to ever read it, so as a test he sent them empty pen drives. At least one player still claimed to have read the presentation.
BigMø
1
Ey bro they will say it is rough getting data😂😂😂😂
Anish Dhume
0
better grab one before they realise it and stop giving you any offers buddy
robjet07
0
then even the players understood that u were the biggest loser
rameez_mulla1
2
hr should have tried whatsapp, facebook or twitter lol😂
🤣🤣🤣
Akekala
10
hr should have tried whatsapp, facebook or twitter lol😂
Singapore8198685
0
Stop crying u idiot
forzacmilanspursmanu
0
and louis confirming @estera and kicker mag on lewan . . .hmm
forzacmilanspursmanu
3
lool @autty
ab12678
2
They were not ignoring emails.. they were just ignoring you