Louis van Gaal has suggested that United's owners have the wrong priorities (Image: GETTY)
Louis van Gaal has launched a stinging attack on the Glazer family for turning Manchester United into a 'commercial club, not a football club'. The outspoken Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford in 2014, replacing David Moyes, and was tasked with restoring former glories. He lasted two seasons until he was given the boot in 2016, just days after leading United to FA Cup glory.
United have continued to spiral in the years since Van Gaal was in charge, having made little progress despite spending billions on new players. They did not win a single trophy in the season just gone and failed to qualify for Europe for only the second time since 1990. Ruben Amorim now faces the unenviable task of finding a solution where many of his predecessors have failed.
The outspoken Dutchman also urged United to learn lessons from Liverpool (Image: GETTY)
Van Gaal believes United's hierarchy is to blame for their current plight, insisting the priorities of those in charge are not in line with how a football club should be run.
"It is still a commercial club," he told Sky Sports. "It's not a football club, I think. I have said that before. It's always difficult when the manager is not deciding which player has to come. It's very difficult.
"I think it is the way it should be. Because then, you can fire a manager because he doesn't give any results. But when other persons 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. I think it should be always like that."
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Van Gaal also urged United to learn lessons from Liverpool, where Arne Slot is trusted to do the right thing when it comes to player recruitment.
"Arne Slot is the man who says to his technical manager that he needs to buy this player," added Van Gaal. "Pay attention to it."
It remains to be seen if United will heed Van Gaal's advice as they look to improve their fortunes next season. It cannot get much worse for the Red Devils, who are still smarting from their worst campaign in the Premier League era.
It came after they were beaten by Tottenham in the Europa League final, a result which compounded their misery. To make matters even worse, they recently lost a friendly to an invitational team of Asian players to rub salt in their already gaping wounds.
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