Louis van Gaal remains bitter over his Old Trafford exit, describing the club as "mean and low" and declaring that he turned down the Belgium job to continue to collect a severance package from United.
"It was stupid, really, because the sporting value should always come in the first place," said van Gaal, who was sacked by the Red Devils in 2016. "That should have been the most important thing, but that's how I looked at things," he told Dutch newspaper 'De Volkskrant'.
Jose Mourinho was brought in and van Gaal rejected the offer from the Belgian FA to spite Manchester United: "It was not about money. It was all about the act of revenge. I went for my instinct, not the rational. I just have to live with that," he said.
"The way Manchester United have treated me was terrible. They have been mean and low," he added, visibly resentful. "The former players of United started to have a go, saying that I was giving the fans boring football. That struck me. It was directed, organised."
"After a while I started to think I'm losing my authority this way towards the players. So I had to make concessions in my approach of the players. That was tough, because I've always had my own way of coaching."