Manchester United sack Louis van Gaal as manager

Louis van Gaal
Van Gaal

Louis van Gaal has been sacked as manager of Manchester United, with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho set to be named as his replacement.

Van Gaal, 64, leaves after two years of a three-year contract and is currently discussing severance terms.

The former Netherlands boss is believed to earn around £6.4m a year.

Mourinho’s appointment is expected to be confirmed after the 53-year-old Portuguese meets with senior United officials on Tuesday.

It is not yet certain what future Ryan Giggs, Van Gaal’s assistant, has at Old Trafford or what will happen to the rest of the coaching team.

United’s FA Cup win over Crystal Palace on Saturday was Van Gaal’s last game in charge.

He took control of United after leading the Netherlands to the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Van Gaal replaced David Moyes who was sacked on April 22, 2014 after 10 months in charge of the red side of Manchester.

The Old Trafford club finished fourth in the Premier League in his first season in charge to qualify for the Champions League.

But they finished fifth this term and will play in the Europa League next season.

They only scored 49 league goals, too, their lowest total since 1989-90.

Saturday’s FA Cup success at Wembley gave United a first trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson delivered the Premier League title in 2013 in his last season before retirement, but it was not enough to stop Van Gaal from losing his job.

Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea last December, just seven months after leading the London club to the Premier League title.