Van Gaal slates Woodward for knowing ‘zero’ about football in scathing criticism of Man Utd set up

LOUIS VAN GAAL has slammed Manchester United chief Ed Woodward for having “zero understanding of football”.

In an outspoken interview with a German magazine, the former Old Trafford boss defended his record.

And he claims United have gone downhill on the pitch since they replaced him with Jose Mourinho for “business” reasons.

Dutchman Van Gaal was asked about the influence of money in the game — and the former manager of Ajax, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Holland did not hold back.

He said: “At Bayern, the people in charge are football men. I always appreciated that.

“At Manchester United, on the other hand, Ed Woodward was installed as CEO — somebody with zero understanding of football who was previously an investment banker.

“It cannot be a good thing when a club is run solely from a commercially-driven perspective.”

Van Gaal replaced David Moyes as United manager in 2014 and took the team to fourth and fifth places in his two seasons.

He had won league titles in Holland, Spain and Germany, as well as the Champions League and Uefa Cup with Ajax.

But he claims winning the 2016 FA Cup with United “was my greatest achievement as a coach” because his team triumphed over Crystal Palace with ten men after he had been criticised for months on end.

He was sacked days after that Wembley victory but told June’s 11 Freunde magazine: “I don’t hold it against the club. They wanted Mourinho and he was on the market.”

Ed Woodward was installed as CEO — somebody with zero understanding of football

Van Gaal on Ed Woodward

Mourinho won the FA Cup and Europa League and guided United to second place in the Premier League behind record-breaking champions Manchester City last season.

But when Van Gaal was asked if the club made the wrong decision to sack himself, he said: “When you look at the sporting development of United, you could say that.

“But appointing Mourinho was obviously interesting from a business point of view.”

Van Gaal, 67, was also asked about the difference between his football philosophy — he was accused of being negative — and Mourinho’s approach.

He explained: “He wins games. And for a club like United, the main thing is to win trophies.

“How they are won isn’t the main priority, the English fans see it differently.

“They accept that the game is not all about attacking but it is also about defending.

“I always tried to defend high up the pitch, to be in the opposition’s half and play the game there.”

Van Gaal expressed admiration for the “easily recognisable” football philosophies of Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, City’s Pep Guardiola and Erik Ten Hag’s Ajax.

Most United fans will not share Van Gaal’s happy memories of how the team played under him.

But they will acknowledge that a succession of Old Trafford bosses, including current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have been let down by their players.

Van Gaal added: “What annoys me is that it’s always the players who are made responsible for success, but it’s the coach who takes the blame for failures.

“That’s wrong. The coach influences the overall process.”