Louis van Gaal has revealed Daniel Levy left his house in the back of a car boot to avoid a local journalist after the pair held talks about the Tottenham job in 2014.
Levy made the trip to Van Gaal's house in Noordwijk to try and persuade the Dutchman to replace Tim Sherwood shortly after firing him in May 2014.
Sherwood had signed an 18-month deal in December 2018 but Levy exercised a break clause after just five months and then made an approach for Van Gaal.
'Daniel Levy went to my house here in Noordwijk and left in the trunk, because Jack van Gelder [a local journalist] was outside', said Van Gaal.
Van Gaal was hot property having overseen Netherlands' qualification for World Cup 2014 but a deal for him to take the reins at Spurs failed to materialise.
'It took a long time and he actually gave Manchester United the opportunity to make an offer,' he added.
Van Gaal was appointed as United boss in May 2014, shortly before guiding his country to the semi-finals of the World Cup, where they were beaten by Argentina.
Tottenham, meanwhile, hired Mauricio Pochettino, who had impressed during an 18-month spell in charge of Southampton.
The Argentine went on to enjoy five successful years at Spurs, which culminated in the club reaching the Champions League final in 2019 before he was sacked in November.
Van Gaal lifted the FA Cup at the end of his second season at Old Trafford but that wasn't enough for him to avoid being sacked just weeks later.