Jose Mourinho called Louis van Gaal to tell him he was fired

Louis van Gaal found out about the end of his time at Manchester United from Jose Mourinho himself.

In a Premier League season that was full of surprises, perhaps the least surprising thing that happened was Louis van Gaal getting sacked. Not only did he fail to get Manchester United back to the Champions League, after getting them knocked out of the group stage, but he had them play a style of football that was defensive and the antithesis of the club’s philosophy.

With Jose Mourinho set to take over as Manchester United’s next manager, Van Gaal’s left on a high note by delivering the team their first FA Cup since 2004. However, that wasn’t enough to save his job, and reports of Mourinho’s hiring overshadowed the Cup win.

To make matters worse, the Mirror is reporting that Jose Mourinho was the one to call Van Gaal and inform him that Manchester United “had sounded him out” about the Old Trafford job, essentially confirming the worst-kept secret in world football at the time. Not long after, he was fired from his job.

Of course, Van Gaal and Mourinho are good friends, and Mourinho made the call to “preserve their friendship”, but if anything, that is only going to sour things between the two.

While Mourinho’s appointment hasn’t been made official yet, it’s practically set in stone and fans are waiting anxiously for the team to release a statement:

While Mourinho isn’t likely to bring the free-flowing, attacking brand of football that fans were craving under Louis van Gaal, his resume suggests that he’s more than capable of bringing them a league title, perhaps as soon as his first year in charge, as well as further glory in Europe’s competitions.

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