LOUIS VAN GAAL was wrong to let Angel Di Maria leave Manchester United just a year after the Argentine arrived at Old Trafford from Real Madrid.
At least that’s the verdict of former Red Devils midfielder Anderson, who’s slammed the way his old manager went about his job.
Di Maria joined United in the summer of 2014 and was heralded as one of the men to take them back to the top of the Premier League.
He left England just 12 months later though, with United making a hefty loss on the £59.7m fee that had taken him to Manchester.
Anderson, who won the Champions League under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008, has now questioned Van Gaal’s decision to let Di Maria leave while discussing his own departure.
“I needed to be playing; I was 25, not 21,” the Brazilian told ESPN. “I went on loan to Fiorentina [in January 2014].
“Beautiful city and club; you can live very well in Florence. We got to the final of the Italian Cup.
“Then I came back to United and Van Gaal arrived (Anderson shakes his head). I respect Van Gaal, but football had changed and he was not successful anymore.
“He gave silly instructions for everything, even in training. He was like a robot. I decided to leave. I told Van Gaal that I wanted to leave. He said I could go.
“I was leaving a club, which wasn’t the same. The spirit was going, players were leaving.
“How did he let a player like Di Maria go so quickly? He’s a sick player. [Robin] Van Persie lost the love, too. Everyone started saying: ‘We’ll go.’
“Van Gaal’s philosophy was no longer working. It’s hard in the Premier League to play robotic: pass, pass, pass.”
Anderson returned to his homeland with Internacional after leaving United in 2015 and spent time on loan at Coritiba last year.
Source:www.express.co.uk