Ronald Koeman reignites feud with Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal

 

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Oranje alert: Koeman and Van Gaal have a history of acrimony
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Charlie Doris26 June 2015

Ronald Koeman has added further tension to his decade-long rift with Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal by taking a swipe at his tenure so far at Old Trafford.

The Dutch pair’s feud began back in 2004 at Ajax when Van Gaal as technical director sanctioned the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic on deadline day without the blessing of the coach, Koeman.

This angered the now Southampton boss and also left him with no time to find a valid replacement for the Swedish star.

Koeman also claimed that Van Gaal regularly lambasted his training methods and undermined him by sitting in on discussions between the manager and his squad.

Now, over a decade on, both managers seem to be far from over their initial spat. Both Koeman and Van Gaal turned down the chance to partake in a traditional post-match glass of wine with each other at St. Mary’s and Old Trafford this season.

While talking to Dutch magazine Voetbal International, Koeman attempted to play down their rift but couldn’t help taking a couple of swipes at his compatriot.

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He said “I can’t see why they ever nominated him for the LMA award, hahaha….

“On a serious note, he has turned it around at Manchester United. But he started with a lot of difficulties.

“I could say, well done, but then again he has so much to spend than other clubs”.

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