Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has nothing but praise for outgoing manager Louis van Gaal, with whom he enjoyed a good relationship at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils confirmed the sacking of the veteran Dutch manager earlier in the week with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho being tipped to take over. The announcement regarding the appointment is expected to be made by the end of the week in spite of the apparent delay.
The veteran midfielder, who has been closely associated with the Dutch manager from his time at Bayern Munich as well as Manchester United, insists that he has a special relationship with Van Gaal.
According to Schweinsteiger, the former Barcelona boss is an admirable coach and the fact that they were able to hand him the FA Cup before he left was fitting.
"I think Louis van Gaal and I have a very special relationship – he moved me into the centre of the midfield at Bayern and I've got a lot to thank him for", the German international said at a press conference yesterday.
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Schweinsteiger also took time to credit Van Gaal for influencing his move to Manchester United last summer.
"My move to United was because of him. I will never say any bad words about somebody for whom I have so much to thank.
"Quite the opposite – even if we were not always of the same opinion, we had a good relationship.
"I admire him as a coach and despite a difficult season with a lot of injury misfortune, he still ended it with a good title.
"It's been two years since United last won a title and I think that was a good ending for him."
