Louis van Gaal has been steadfast in his belief that he will retire before he reaches the age of 65. Van Gaal's contract expires at the end of next season, and he says he wants to fulfill a promise that he will retire to be with his wife Truus.
That means that after the Sir Alex Ferguson legacy that lasted 17 years, United will be looking for their third manager in just four years.
But, according to Van Gaal - they won't be looking very long:
LVG "Yes I spend a lot of money on Martial, but I buy him for my successor .... Ryan Giggs" #mufc pic.twitter.com/6barMkDILk
— apc (@apc377) September 9, 2015
At an event for Manchester United's season ticket holders, Van Gaal said that he thinks that United legend and current assistant manager Ryan Giggs will be the next manager of the Old Trafford club, speaking of Giggs:
I feel I am introducing the next manager of Manchester United.
Such is Van Gaal's determination to do well for the club despite his impending departure, he still wants to leave Giggs in the best position to succeed. That, he says, is one of the main reasons why 19-year-old French forward Anthony Martial was acquired:
I have not bought Martial for me, I have bought him for the next manager of Manchester United.
Van Gaal took the time to complain about the rising cost of transfer fees, acknowledging that the fee paid for Martial was a "ridiculous amount of money", and is a sample of the "crazy world we are in". Van Gaal thinks that United suffer from their status as one of the richest clubs in the world and are routinely quoted "£10 million more" for a player than other clubs.
Meanwhile, Van Gaal has allowed promising young forward James Wilson to go out on loan to Derby, further depleting their striking stocks behind Wayne Rooney. The United manager says he'll ease Martial into the team, but with Wilson going on loan to get more first team opportunities - United do have an emergency recall clause.
The other high profile loan departure was Andan Januzaj, who Van Gaal said has a future at the club - but he is looking for more evidence of his quality by improving his mentality and playing week in and week out. Van Gaal will turn to Brazilian Andreas Pereira in his place.
