Louis van Gaal has given reasons as to why Bastian Schweinsteiger, Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria flopped at Manchester United.
In 2014, Di Maria became United’s recording signing by then with his arrival being followed by Radamel Falco from AS Monaco. Falcao joined the Red Devils on loan with the club having the option of making it a permanent deal if they wished to.
The duo didn’t perform as expected and left the Old Trafford the following season with Di Maria joining Paris Saint Germain while Falcao moved to Chelsea on loan.
On Di Maria
“Di Maria says it was my problem. I played him in every attacking position. You can check that. He never convinced me in any of those positions. He could not deal with the continuous pressure on the ball in the Premier League. That was his problem,” said Van Gaal.
On Falcao
“I wanted a first-class striker. I don’t want to go through all the names but when you can’t have the first or second choice, you have to be happy with the fourth or fifth, so Falcao came into the picture but we knew in advance he was injured. That is why I said we should take him on loan.”
On Schweinsteiger
“I brought Schweinsteiger in because we needed a captain on the pitch. He didn’t do it. He was injured. He had an excuse.”
Van Gaal won the FA cup during his two seasons at Manchester United.