Louis van Gaal warns Erik ten Hag not to join ‘commercial club’ Manchester United

Former United manager Van Gaal had acrimonious departure from Old Trafford in 2016

Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal (ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal has advised his compatriot Erik ten Hag against joining Manchester United as they are not a football club but a “commercial club”.

Ten Hag was formally interviewed last week for the role as United's next permanent manager, to replace interim Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

The Ajax coach is one of several candidates being considered by United, with Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui also understood to be on their shortlist.

Ten Hag has emerged as a popular choice among United's supporters but the Old Trafford club have insisted that there is no frontrunner at this stage.

Van Gaal served two seasons as United manager before being dismissed in 2016 after failing to achieve a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League.

The veteran Dutch coach was angered with the manner of his departure from Old Trafford, criticising former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward's handling of his exit.

Now in his third spell in charge of the Netherlands, Van Gaal has cautioned Ten Hag against accepting any potential offer from United and told him to join “a football club” instead.

Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag was interviewed by Manchester United last week (Getty Images)

“Erik ten Hag is a great coach and that is always good for Manchester United,” he said. “But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it's a difficult choice for a coach. He'd better go to a football club.”

While Ten Hag’s contract at Ajax is set to expire at the end of next season, there is a belief that this will be his final year at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

When asked where he believed Ten Hag should go, Van Gaal added: “I'm not going to advise him, he'll call me himself, but he must choose a football club and not a commercial club."

In an interview with BBC Sport in 2019, Van Gaal pinned the blame for United's malaise during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years at Woodward's door.

“At the moment there is a structure with a scouting division and above that is someone at Woodward's right hand," he said.

“The structure is not so bad but the right hand has to be a technical director with a football view, not somebody with a banker's role.

“Unfortunately, we are talking about a commercial club, not a football club. I spoke to Ferguson about this and in his last years, he also had problems with it."