Van Gaal Slams Mourinho

Former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has criticised the way he was replaced at the club by Jose Mourinho.

The Dutchman was sacked after two difficult years at Old Trafford and the arrival of Mourinho as his replacement was an open secret prior to official confirmation of his appointment.

Van Gaal believes the situation could have been handled differently and says his successor is guilty of letting himself get out of control too often.

The former boss was at Anfield on Saturday for United’s goalless draw with Liverpool on Saturday as part of his role for Dutch TV.

He and Mourinho met in the Anfield tunnel prior to kick-off, but Van Gaal has not yet forgotten how he was dismissed by the club and replaced by his former Barcelona assistant.

Van Gaal said: ‘How I have suspected it, the way his transfer as a manager to Manchester United went was not elegant at all, that resulted in my sacking.

‘In principle, he (Mourinho) is not a bad guy. He can be sympathetic and he was this way when he was my assistant in the past.

‘But he lets himself go out of control too often.’

The Dutchman was sacked following his side’s FA Cup victory and despite his reign being tainted by criticism, he still has good memories.

He added: ‘I have great memories and my relationship with all the staff and fans was great during my time at United.

‘Our CEO Ed Woodward promised me six bottles of Ribeiro red wine every time I would beat Liverpool.

‘Well, I won four times, so I had a lot of those bottles.’

The current side could not add another win over their bitter rivals at the weekend, with Mourinho’s men holding out for a 0-0 draw.