Following criticism of Louis van Gaal from one of his former players, Hristro Stoichkov, another former Barcelona midfielder has spoken out in defence of United’s manager.

They criticise him on a human level because he is very direct or because he seems arrogant. He was ahead of his time back then. He worked to perfect the training sessions and improve the team technically and tactically. Twenty years ago he was a very complete coach. In time he will do a very good job at Manchester United. He will make them very strong in the Premier League and in the Champions League. He will do a great job.