Louis van Gaal claims Man City antics influenced 'deciding factor' in Man Utd sacking

· Mirror

Louis van Gaal was sacked by Manchester United in 2016 having missed out on the Champions League - with Manchester City topping them during a period where they were breaching financial rules

Louis van Gaal has bemoaned Manchester City's cheating scandal with his Manchester United sacking coming after he narrowly missed out on the Champions League - with their neighbours the ones to pip them to fourth spot.

The Dutchman lasted two years at Old Trafford, but a fifth place finish in 2016 proved to be the final straw and he was shown the door with Jose Mourinho replacing him.

Van Gaal's final game was the FA Cup final, where he claimed victory over Crystal Palace, but 24 hours later he received his marching orders, owing to a poor league campaign that saw United capitulate from December, finishing outside the top four on goal difference.

It was City who edged them and Van Gaal believes that their league position was the "the deciding factor" in him losing his job - and that frustration has only furthered after the Etihad outfit were found guilty of 114 financial breaches from 2009 to 2018.

Van Gaal told the Athletic: “For me, at the time, that (missing out on the Champions League in 2016) was probably the deciding factor in my dismissal from Manchester United and all the consequences and suffering this entailed.”

City's guilty verdict came after years of investigating, and has already been appealed by those on the blue half of Manchester, but Van Gaal claims irrespective of what happens next “I cannot turn back history now. Not even the English Football Association can (do that).”

Van Gaal saw his United team claim four points in the games against City in the 2015/16 season - drawing at Old Trafford before they secured a statement win at the Etihad with a young Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the game.

Despite Van Gaal's frustration United can only have themselves to blame with fourth spot within their grasp going into the final weeks of the season. They had control of their own destiny but they lost at West Ham in the penultimate game of the campaign and that gave City the breathing room they needed.

Van Gaal left United having won 54 of his 103 games, giving him a 52 percent win rate. He was the second manager to take charge in Manchester after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, replacing David Moyes in the aftermath of the World Cup in 2014. He finished fourth in his first season, but couldn't repeat that feat.

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