THE HAGUE: Firebrand football manager Louis van Gaal says he is “most likely done as a coach” but would step back into the ring for one exception: a chance to get back at Manchester United.
“I most likely won t coach any club again,” Van Gaal, nicknamed the “Iron Tulip”, told popular daily tabloid De Telegraaf.
“But if I do, it has to be a large English club, because I have unfinished business with Manchester United.”
The Red Devils unceremoniously sacked Van Gaal last year after an uninspiring stint at Old Trafford despite winning the FA Cup — United s first major silverware since the retirement of legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
De Telegraaf said Van Gaal in particular expressed “rancour” at United s top boss Ed Woodward.
This despite the fact that, the paper pointed out, that Woodward allowed Van Gaal “to spend 350 million euros to handpick his team, as well as a paying him a handsome salary and release fee”.
Dutch media reports said earlier this year that Van Gaal had received several lucrative offers after leaving United, including a three-year, multi-million-euro contract in the Far East, most likely China.
Flamboyant and outspoken, Van Gaal said in mid-January that he was quitting, but changed his tune just two days later, saying instead that he was taking a year-long sabbatical.
“Then I will decide. It depends also on the offers I get,” Van Gaal said at the time.