Former Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has hit back at Angel Di Maria in response to comments made by the Argentine about their time together in England. The Dutch manager signed the 31-year-old winger from Real Madrid in 2014 but an apparent fallout led to the premature exit of the latter.
Di Maria subsequently moved to Paris Saint-Germain after just a year at Old Trafford and has since won two Ligue 1 title among a host of domestic cups. Speaking on Argentine television show ESPN Redes, the ex-Real Madrid star explained that a dispute with Van Gaal was what led to his Manchester United exit.
"I was at Manchester and everything was fine with Van Gaal during the first two months. After one fight, things weren't the same. The relationship wasn't the same.
"The fight with Van Gaal occurred because he was always showing me bad and negative things and all that held me back.
"One day I fought with him. I told him I didn't want to see those things anymore, that I was doing things well and asked him why he wasn't showing me good things. "He did not like how I spoke to him and from there the whole problem started."
Nonetheless, Louis Van Gaal has slammed the Di Maria statement in a recent interview with BBC claiming that the player was the catalyst in his own downfall.
"Di Maria says it was my problem. "I played him in every attacking position. You can check that.
"He never convinced me in any of those positions. He could not deal with the continuous pressure on the ball in the Premier League. That was his problem. "I brought Schweinsteiger in because we needed a captain on the pitch. He didn't do it. He was injured. He had an excuse.
"I wanted a first-class striker. I don't want to go through all the names but when you can't have the first or second choice, you have to be happy with the fourth or fifth, so Falcao came into the picture but we knew in advance he was injured. That is why I said we should take him on loan."
Louis Van Gaal went further to hit out at Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward for the manner in which he handled his sack. Having initially signed a three-year contract in 2014, the former Oranje manager saw his stay last for only two years with his side's non-performance prompting the appointment of Jose Mourinho.
"I can imagine Woodward chooses Mourinho. He is a top coach. He has won a lot of titles. More than me.
"What I don't like is Woodward contacting my successor, knowing in his mind he will replace me and he keeps his mouth shut for six months. Every Friday I had to go into press conferences and be asked what I thought about the rumors. What does that do to the authority of the coach?
"To win the FA Cup when, for six months, the media has a noose around my neck, is my biggest achievement,' Van Gaal said.
"I spoke to Woodward the day after that game. His argument was that I was only going to be there for one more year and Mourinho would be there for three, four or five.
"I appreciate he hired a private plane to get me back to Portugal but his arguments were not good enough."
Louis Van Gaal announced his retirement from football management earlier this month, bringing an end to a 28-year coaching spell.
