Louis van Gaal was “almost ashamed” by the wages he received from Manchester United during his time in charge at Old Trafford.
That’s according to his wife Truus, who has revealed how the Dutchman reacted to being hired by the Reds in 2014.
Van Gaal was brought in as the replacement for David Moyes following his unsuccessful period in charge after being elected as Sir Alex Ferguson’s long-term replacement.
He arrived at the club following a successful spell in charge of the Netherlands, where they finished third overall, beating hosts Brazil in the third/fourth place playoff.
He would end up spending just two years in Manchester taking charge of 103 games in total and winning the FA Cup before being sacked in May 2016.
His move to Manchester United was a huge one at the time, with the club spending big to secure his signature and backing him with funds in the transfer market to reshape the squad he had inherited.
It seems, though, Van Gaal wasn’t particularly comfortable with the money side of things, at least when it came to what he was earning.
“I remember when Manchester United were interested in Louis. Ed Woodward, the big boss, wanted to meet with Louis and his business manager in a hotel.
“Louis said, ‘I don’t have an agent and you can just come to my house in Noordwijk.’ So the man sits here, where you are sitting now, I put down a cup of coffee and a slice of cake for him and go into the village.
“But I enter our flat and there Louis is already waiting for me. With a proud face and his arms outstretched, he shouted: ‘Here is the new manager of Manchester United!’ He even opened champagne, even though neither of us likes that very much.
“At one point I say, ‘So, what are we going to earn?’ That’s her again, he thought, so that hadn’t been discussed yet. ‘What are you saying?’ I said. But then he thinks I have dollar signs in my eyes.
“A few days later, Woodward called again, Louis joked: ‘My wife wants to know what I will earn, hahaha. And then he doesn’t negotiate. He’s just almost ashamed of the amount he’s getting.”
