Former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has launched into a scathing attack on the recruitment practices at the club.
Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2014, and was tasked with restoring the club after David Moyes lasted just ten months in the unenviable position of being Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor.
The Dutchman went on to spend two years at United before being sacked just days after his side defeated Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup.
As United prepare for yet another summer of change following a their worst-ever Premier League campaign, Van Gaal insisted a lack of cohesion in the club’s recruitment is to blame for their ongoing struggles on the pitch.
‘They are a commercial club, not a football club.’ Van Gaal told Sky Sports.
‘I have said that before and that’s always difficult. When the manager is not deciding which players have to come in, it is very difficult.’
Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hit out at the club’s recruitment practices
Ruben Amorim is gearing up for a busy summer in the transfer window after a dismal maiden campaign at Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has implement a number of reforms since taking control of football operations at the club
Asked whether he believes that managers should be more in control of their transfer business, Van Gaal insisted it is the only way for them to be judged on their own merits.
‘I think that it is is the way that it should be,’ he said.
‘Because then you can fire a manager because he doesn’t give any results. But when other people buy the players, then you have a problem.
‘You need to have the knowledge of the manager, the orientation of the manager, because he has to train them.’
The former Netherlands boss added that United would be wise to emulate the approach of their fiercest rivals in the transfer market going forward.
He added: ‘Arne Slot is the man who says to his technical manager that he has to buy this player, pay attention to it.’
Van Gaal has previously expressed his frustration with United’s transfer activity during his own time in the Old Trafford dugout.
Despite splashing out upwards of £150million on Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind, and Angel Di Maria in his first summer at the club the 73-year-old later bemoaned the failure to secure his primary targets.
Van Gaal added United would be wise to emulate their rivals’ approach in the transfer market
The Dutchman previously detailed his frustration with the club’s signings during his own tenure
‘Manchester United did not have the qualities to become champions and had an outdated selection with 10 players over 30, five over 35.’ He told Voetbal International in 2020.
‘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 £600m 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.’
