‘He Has Zero Understanding Of Football’ – Louis Van Gaal On Ed Woodward

Louis van Gaal has claimed that Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward has “zero understanding of football”.

The Dutch tactician managed the Red Devils from 2014 to 2016, during which he led the team to 4th- and 5th-placed finishes in the Premier League, and an FA Cup trophy.

He was then sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho, who also struggled at the Old Trafford club, and was eventually succeeded by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December 2018.

Now, speaking of his former club’s troubles, LVG has laid complete blame on Manchester United‘s chief executive Ed Woodward and his money-minded philosophy.

Speaking to a German magazine, Van Gaal stated (via the Daily Mail): “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.”

Then addressing the circumstances under which he got sacked, Louis added: “I don’t hold it against the club. They wanted Mourinho and he was on the market. But appointing Mourinho was obviously interesting from a business point of view.

“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.”