Although his attempts were hampered by the club’s recruitment issues, Van Gaal’s time at United wasn’t entirely negative.
Missed transfer market opportunities point to a problem with United’s hiring process.
Finding a balance between experience and young might have kept important players from falling between the cracks.
In retrospect, Louis van Gaal’s tenure as Manchester United’s manager wasn’t as bleak as many at Old Trafford claimed. Two days after Jesse Lingard’s decisive victory at Wembley Stadium, the Dutchman’s tenure was cut short just as the paint was drying on his accomplishments. He had guided the team back into the Champions League and then added an FA Cup to the trophy cabinet, stabilising a sinking ship after the nadirs that his predecessor David Moyes had dug up.
Van Gaal’s dismissal was mostly justified by the club’s administration, who attacked his conservative, possession-based style as being uninteresting and devoid of the classic offensive flair that United supporters so desperately desired. However, comparing the players he desired between 2014 and 2016 with the ones he ultimately acquired reveals a dismal tale of how he was left to contend with one of the most difficult positions in football.
During his tenure at Manchester, Van Gaal was given 14 players, including Bastian Schweinsteiger, Radamel Falcao, and Morgan Schneiderlin, all of whom were past their prime. What about the ones he requested but never got, as reported by the Manchester Evening News?
Robert Lewandowski
Barcelona
Those in charge of recruiting at Old Trafford have had difficulty finding the ideal balance between young talent and seasoned expertise for the most of the post-Ferguson period. All too frequently, managers have been given players who are either too young to be certain of their potential or who are too old to be of any use, relying more on reputation than skill.
But a 26-year-old Robert Lewandowski would have been the ideal remedy for this bad tactic. Rather, he joined Bayern Munich in 2014, where he helped them win the Champions League with 344 goals in 375 games. He is currently leading Barcelona’s charge at the age of 36, continuing to demonstrate his status as one of the finest players to never win a Ballon d’Or. He is a generational talent and a conspicuous omission in United’s protracted and difficult hunt for a new number nine.
Retired Gonzalo Higuain
Given Gonzalo Higuain’s lacklustre tenure at Chelsea, it would appear that United’s management made the right decision in rejecting Van Gaal’s suggestion to bring the Argentine to Old Trafford. The former striker for Real Madrid and Napoli, however, was once thought to be among the world’s best renowned forwards.
Although he was often criticised for vanishing during crucial games, he was a dedicated and shrewd goal scorer. Given that some of the most talented attacking players in the world have failed at Old Trafford—just ask Memphis Depay—it is still debatable if he would have been a good fit for the Red Devils. Before hanging up his boots for the last time in 2022, Higuain would go on to become a Serie A winner with Juventus and one of Inter Miami’s greatest goal scorers in the years after his United snub.
Neymar Santos
Even outside of the duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, many people still consider Neymar to be among the best modern football players. His arrival at Manchester United would have been an exciting prospect just for that reason. But given that his £71 million transfer from his boyhood team, Santos, to Barcelona had only been finalised a season before, it was an impractical goal for a team that was gradually slipping from its previous glory.
Neymar would later become one of the highest-paid football players in the world at both Paris Saint-Germain and Al-Hilal after winning a Champions League with attack partners Messi and Luis Suarez. It must be acknowledged, though, that injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential, as he recently decided to turn his career around by returning to Santos at the beginning of 2025.
Sadio Mane
Al-Nassr
Finding players who can keep up with the Premier League’s tempo is another of Manchester United’s persistent problems. Few can fulfil its unrelenting demands, which is not surprising given that it is regarded as the world’s hardest league. Few, though, were better at it than Sadio Mane, who almost ended up playing for the opposing teams of England’s two most successful teams before moving across the country from Southampton to Liverpool in 2016.
A two-time African Player of the Year, the Senegalese international must be appreciative of his transfer to Anfield. In 2014, when Manchester United and Liverpool were both without trophies, he could scarcely have foreseen the success that would come under Jurgen Klopp. However, Mane finished his tenure on Merseyside with both the Premier League and the Champions League, having scored 120 goals, provided 40 assists, and made 269 appearances. He has unquestionably cemented his status as one of the best African football players of all time, and he currently plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia. Not bad.
Mahrez Riyad Al-Ahli
Yes, United failed to take advantage of two wingers that Van Gaal suggested and who later helped their fiercest opponents achieve unheard-of success. The second was Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian player played a significant role in Manchester City’s 2022–2023 campaign, which saw them win a historic treble.
During his tenure with Leicester City, he rose to prominence in the Premier League and helped the Foxes win the league in 2016 by playing alongside Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante. He is another forward who will be happy to count their lucky stars that they never ended up wasting their talent under the guise of a club that talks the talk but has repeatedly failed to walk the walk. He left England for Al-Ahli in 2023, having won five Premier League winners’ medals.
Muller, Thomas
The Bayern Munich
After learning of Thomas Muller’s abilities when the German was only ten years old, Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged that he too attempted and failed to sign the player. It was almost unimaginable that Van Gaal would be the one to seal the deal, given that Bayern Munich couldn’t snatch him from United’s greatest manager ever.
Although his much underappreciated skills would have been a boon to the Red Devils, the 35-year-old, who is the epitome of Bayern Munich, had little chance of leaving his luxurious existence in Bavaria for the demanding grind of Manchester. With 741 games for Die Roten as of this writing, 247 goals, 273 assists, and a key role in 12 Bundesliga crowns and two Champions League victories, Thomas Muller is the quintessential one-club man. Having assisted Germany in winning the 2014 World Cup, he also has one of the most assists in World Cup history.
James Milner
Brighton & Hove Albion
James Milner is the kind of player that every winning team needs. Even though the former midfielder-turned-defender didn’t make headlines or score those spectacular goals, his unwavering work ethic and consistent performances in the background made the stars shine. Throughout Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp period, the Leeds-born veteran was a devoted and trustworthy character. Although he was the epitome of quiet, his influence was anything but dull; after all, his success led to a Premier League and Champions League.
Numerous system players have subtly kept everything together throughout football history. Milner might have easily succeeded Michael Carrick at Manchester United if the club’s decision-makers had not given more weight to players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger at the time. Carrick is a prime example of this during Sir Alex Ferguson’s rule.
Kante N’Golo Al-Ittihad
N’Golo Kante was a quiet, vivacious midfielder playing in the background for Caen in French football when Van Gaal drew his attention to him. Nobody would have anticipated the storm that was about to happen when that modest young star made an undetected £5.6 million move to Leicester City.
Before winning another league title with Chelsea, taking home a Champions League trophy, and assisting France in winning the 2018 World Cup, Kante would prove to be the driving force behind Leicester’s incredible 5000-1 Premier League title victory. In retrospect, he might be among the most important lost chances of the Van Gaal period.
Ramos Monterrey, Sergio
Only two defenders were on Van Gaal’s 10-player wishlist, which is fairly unexpected considering that the Dutchman was jeered off stage by his superiors for using a drab style of play. None, however, were as unrealistic as the idea of acquiring Sergio Ramos. Any offer for the no-nonsense Spaniard, who was enjoying a great reign at Real Madrid, would probably have been laughed at.
Ramos and Monterrey are now finishing out Ramos’ career in Mexico. He will, however, leave a legacy that surpasses most. The 38-year-old, who is widely considered the best defender in Champions League history, won the championship five times and was selected to the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 an astounding eleven times. Instead of trying to do miracles at the Theatre of Dreams, Ramos, a serial winner and attitude monster, was destined to continue enjoying the wealth of being a Galactico.
Hummels Mats Roma
One of the best defenders in football history, Mats Hummels was as much a leader as a centre-back. Manchester United has long yearned for a defender with the strength, presence, and passion of the 38-year-old in an era that has been devoid of players like Rio Ferdinand, Jaap Stam, and Nemanja Vidic.
While current defenders like Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans haven’t done much to strengthen the backline, it’s safe to argue that players like Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo weren’t exactly up to par back in 2014. Was it reasonable to expect Hummels to leave Germany at that time, even if he could have given United a great defensive leader? Most likely not. Rather, he won five Bundesliga titles before signing a free agency contract with Roma in 2024. Additionally, he had guided Borussia Dortmund to their second Champions League final in the last ten years, only to lose to Real Madrid under Ramos.
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