United’s executive vice chairman Ed Woodward it is understood made a personal visit to Van Gaal’s home on Sunday to confirm the news he was being fired – after the news leaked out moments after United’s Wembley win over Crystal Palace. Soon the British media had confirmed the story and it looked like an nearly certainty, barring the fact that for 48 hours there would be no official communication from the club on the matter.
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Having discussed severance terms earlier on Monday – Van Gaal is believed to earn around £6.4m a year – United officially confirmed his departure at 20:30 BST.
Louis van Gaal’s sacking as Manchester United manager was finally confirmed on Monday, May 23 as Jose Mourinho prepared to take charge at Old Trafford. One aspect of Van Gaal’s legacy that the fans appreciate is the number of young players he introduced to the first team but Mourinho has shown repeatedly that he has no faith in “potential”. “The club has acted in the best possible way for its own interest and Van Gaal has been a victim of that”.
While van Gaal delivered some long-awaited – by Manchester United’s high standards anyway – silverware, a fifth place Premier League finish was not good enough to secure the holy grail of Champions League football.
The club great has been assistant manager under Van Gaal and was often regarded as the man likely to take over from the Dutchman.
Mourinho also has to deal with the future of Ryan Giggs, the United legend who served as van Gaal’s assistant but could be ready to end his 29-year association with the club.
With such widespread dissatisfaction it easy to forget that the 64-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Netherlands coach was seen as the safe option when he was hired by United in May 2014 following Moyes’s sacking.
I am immensely proud to have helped Manchester United win the FA Cup for the 12th time in the club’s history.
If Van Gaal had combined that record 12th FA Cup success with snatching a Champions League place he might have got the chance to do so but, with Jose Mourinho waiting in the wings, few will lament his departure after one of the most dispiriting seasons United fans have had to endure for decades. I look forward to watching the continued development of these young players next season.
But as his two-season spell in charge ended with a £5m pay-off, the Dutchman claimed he has left the flawless platform for his replacement Jose Mourinho to guide United into a new era of success after Saturday’s FA Cup win.
His win rate is the third best of all of United’s permanent managers at 51 per cent but this season has seen him attract criticism for his team’s style of play.
“They have to be in the top four and competing in the Champions League”. Van Gaal raised the prospect of quitting during that sticky patch. While he navigated the team back into the Champions League in his first year, he failed to meet the club’s objectives and was sacked after two sub-par seasons.
Mourinho’s CV suggests United will return to winning ways, but the club’s traditionalists might have to grit their teeth for the journey.
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For generations of fans brought up to expect high octane attacking soccer, Van Gaal’s stultifying approach was hard to swallow, particularly when it did not work well, after he spent nearly 300 million pounds ($434.34 million) on players.
