Neymar and Sergio Ramos also on van Gaal’s shopping list
In addition to the three top players known from the Bundesliga, Van Gaal also confirmed his interest in numerous international stars in the interview. “When Lewandowski turned out not to be available, I wanted Gonzalo Higuaín. I also talked to the management about Neymar. As a United, you just have to think big. The club would have sold a lot of his jerseys and I needed fast wingers,” said the 69-year-old.
He also wanted to sign Premier League stars Sadio Mané (now Liverpool FC), Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) and N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea FC), according to van Gaal. Real Madrid’s captain Sergio Ramos was also an issue.
“These were my primary transfer goals, but I didn’t get any of them. I do not know exactly why, I was not involved in the negotiations,” the native of Amsterdam described.
After all, Van Gaal was still allowed to shop at United for almost 200 million euros in his first transfer period. Among other things, Ángel Di María found his way from Real to Manchester. Cost: 75 million euros.
