As assistant manager of Manchester United, there had to be lots of things going on at the club that Ryan Giggs didn’t agree with when Louis van Gaal was in charge.

The dull, possession obsessed football had to be the worst of the lot, after Giggs had spent 24 seasons playing for United teams that attacked and took risks.

But another was the decisions Van Gaal made when it came to selling

There have been a lot who have come through that haven’t been United players and also players who were United players and shouldn’t have left. I’m talking about Rafael, Welbeck, Jonny Evans — players who are United through and through.

It was hard because Louis had his own ideas and you had to respect that, but, yes, we had a few arguments about a couple of them. He understood [my position] because I had played with those lads, but they just weren’t for him.

Some of them, like Welbeck, wanted to play more regularly, and Jonny had a few injuries at the time, so you could understand it, but — and it’s not saying it in hindsight — recruitment hasn’t been great either.




------------
The RoM Manchester United 2024-25 season preview is now available. It includes articles from the country's best football writers about our expectations for the season ahead and our brightest talents, as well as proposed transfer business and which youth players to keep an eye out for. All profit goes to The Christie so please support this fantastic cause.