Van Gaal admits he should have joined Tottenham

Louis van Gaal believes taking the Tottenham Hotspur job might have been a better fit for him than Manchester United.

The Dutchman announced his retirement from management earlier this month but he has looked back on what might have been if he had ignored United’s offer and joined Daniel Levy at Spurs before they turned to Mauricio Pochettino.

Van Gaal, 67, in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport has spoken about his career, including his time at Old Trafford between 2014-16, which culminated in an FA Cup triumph in what was his final game in management.

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Van Gaal believes that was his “biggest achievement” because Ed Woodward had “a noose around my neck” and the former Ajax boss thinks he would have had a greater opportunity at Tottenham.

“Tottenham were a better selection because Manchester United were an old team and I knew I would have to transform them,” van Gaal told BBC Sport.

“Was it the wrong choice? Maybe, but I follow my heart. I worked at the number one team in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and now also in England.

“They had seven players over 30. We spoke about that at the job interview. In my first year we qualified for the Champions League. In my second we won the FA Cup.”