This could be the end for ex-United, Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal. Carl Recine / Reuters

Former Manchester United, Barcelona and Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal may never return to coaching.

The 65-year-old Dutchman has not led a team since being fired by Manchester United in May.

That disappointing two-year tenure followed one of his greatest triumphs, leading the Netherlands to the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Van Gaal, coaching for more than 30 years, was taking a break after being axed by Manchester “but now I don’t believe I will return to the coaching profession,” he told Dutch daily De Telegraaf in a story published on Tuesday.

Van Gaal led Ajax to the Champions League title in 1995 and led Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and AZ Alkmaar to domestic league titles.

He says he has nothing left to prove.

“I actually wanted to stop after the (2014) World Cup,” he said, “But then suddenly an offer came from England and that was an amazing country that was missing from my CV.”

Van Gaal said that since his departure from Manchester United he could have gone to coach in China, but decided to stay in the Netherlands for family reasons.

The outspoken coach also criticised the recent decision by Fifa to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, saying the new format “will be terrible for the best teams and the worst teams that have to play each other.”

* Associated Press

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