After a meeting with employment lawyer Paul Gilroy QC at the club’s Carrington training base on Monday morning, it appears Van Gaal and United have now gone their separate ways.
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After two years with English club Manchester United, the 64-year-old former Dutch manager has been relived of his duties.
Although Van Gaal delivered United’s first trophy since Alex Ferguson retired by winning the FA Cup on Saturday, a fifth-place Premier League finish meant the team missed out on Champions League qualification.
Former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager José Mourinho is virtually nailed to take the reins at the club, with his appointment expected to be formally announced in the coming days barring something going spectacularly wrong in the meantime.
Mr. van Gaal also managed the Holland national team; the highlight of his time with the national squad was the bold move of substituting keeper Jasper Cillessen for Tim Krul before penalties in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.
Nothing has been confirmed in relation to the future of United assistant boss Ryan Giggs, or the rest of the club’s current coaching staff.
Manchester United said little, but Van Gaal added some color to his depurture.
However, a run of six games in November and December without a win derailed their league campaign while a 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg ended their Champions League challenge at the group stage and saw them slip into the Europa League.
An official Manchester United statement was expected later in the day.
United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward praised Van Gaal for behaving with “great professionalism and dignity” in the two years since he replaced Moyes.
“It has been an honour to manage such a magnificent club as Manchester United FC, and in doing so, I have fulfilled a long-held ambition”, he said.
He came good on his promise of promoting young players, with 20-year-old Martial and 18-year-old academy graduate Marcus Rashford carrying the fight over the season’s closing months.
Guiding United to its first major trophy in 12 years couldn’t cover for failing to achieve the target of a top-four finish.
Van Gaal went on to thank United’s players, supporters and owners, as well as the board, his coaches and every other member of staff, from the laundry department to the catering team.
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Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Manchester United and return to the Premier League will be “a disease”, claims Spanish newspaper Marca.
