Louis Van Gaal has blamed Manchester United for his failure explaining that the club refused to provide him the players he requested to work with.

Names of Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, and Neymar among a few were publicized. Some of the players during that time were developing and would have brought a great alteration to the then fading Manchester United in the long run.

Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford in 2014 after guiding the Netherlands to third place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but was sacked two years later due to failure to perform.

Upon missing out on the signings, he was granted Angel Di Maria from Madrid for £59m, Herrera, Luke Shaw, Daley Blind, and Marcos Rojo but they all made lesser impact.

The manager in an interview with FourFourTwo called 10 names he requested.

“I wanted Robert Lewandowski, but when this proved difficult I tried to get Gonzalo Higuain instead,” Van Gaal said. 

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“Before I had arrived, I also spoke with the board about Neymar. If you are at United, you have to think big. He was also interesting for the club in terms of selling shirts, and I wanted to have quick wingers.  For that reason, I also tried to get Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez. Thomas Muller was on my wish list, too, and in central midfield I wanted N'Golo Kante.

“I even tried to sign James Milner, who was already quite old but very multifunctional and possessed leadership skills. 

“For the defence, I wanted Sergio Ramos and Mats Hummels, because ours wasn't the strongest in building from the back. Those were my top targets, but we couldn't get any of them. I don't know why, because as the manager I wasn't involved in any negotiations. 

“After I left, players like Mahrez and Kane ended up at Manchester City and Chelsea, while United couldn't get them. I found that very odd.”

Jose Mourinho took his place after the former took over from David Moyes in the previous year.

Van Gaal won the FA Cup in 2016.