United announced on Monday that the vastly experienced ex-Barcelona and Bayer coach will take charge at Old Trafford when his commitments as the Netherlands boss end following this summer's World Cup.
Van Gaal said that his close friend Jose Mourinho was the first person who got in touch with him after he finally landed the job at Old Trafford.
"Mourinho congratulated me. He was the first one I texted and he was the first one to text me back. He said he was jealous of my list of clubs…especially the great AZ," Van Gaal told Dutch television chat show RTL Late Night.
"I didn't call Manchester United, I didn't call Bayern Munich, they've always called me. And I'm proud of that."
Mourinho was heavily linked with Manchester United last summer when Sir Alex Ferguson retired but the job instead went to David Moyes with Mourinho returning to Chelsea.
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Van Gaal also told the Dutch chat show that United were impressed with his work with young players in the past and that he would talk to Ferguson about the job.
"The aim is to bring them (United) back to the No 1 position as soon as possible because that is where they were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
"I’ll undoubtedly have a drink with Ferguson. We’ve done that before and we like each other.
"We didn’t talk about money. We talked about the players I want. We’ll have to see if we can get them. We also talked about who can go"
Bring it on. As members of the media that is all we can say about this Van Gaal appointment. While David Moyes meekly seemed to try and appease everybody (and ended up pleasing nobody) while at Old Trafford, Van Gaal will waltz into Old Trafford with a completely different attitude. He will say what he thinks, unapologetically, and it will be up to everybody else to deal with him, not the other way round. Finally we have an ego in the Premier League to match Mourinho's and their rivalry should be fascinating to watch. Whether their friendship remains in-tact is another thing. Add these two egos to the serene Manuel Pellegrini, the soundbite machine Brendan Rodgers, the professor Arsene Wenger, the all-round nice guy Roberto Martinez and whomever Tottenham bring-in and you have a fascinating cast of characters ready to roll at the top of the Premier League next season. We can't wait. Per Euro Sports
Van Gaal said that his close friend Jose Mourinho was the first person who got in touch with him after he finally landed the job at Old Trafford.
"Mourinho congratulated me. He was the first one I texted and he was the first one to text me back. He said he was jealous of my list of clubs…especially the great AZ," Van Gaal told Dutch television chat show RTL Late Night.
"I didn't call Manchester United, I didn't call Bayern Munich, they've always called me. And I'm proud of that."
Mourinho was heavily linked with Manchester United last summer when Sir Alex Ferguson retired but the job instead went to David Moyes with Mourinho returning to Chelsea.
Van Gaal also told the Dutch chat show that United were impressed with his work with young players in the past and that he would talk to Ferguson about the job.
"The aim is to bring them (United) back to the No 1 position as soon as possible because that is where they were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
"I’ll undoubtedly have a drink with Ferguson. We’ve done that before and we like each other.
"We didn’t talk about money. We talked about the players I want. We’ll have to see if we can get them. We also talked about who can go"
Bring it on. As members of the media that is all we can say about this Van Gaal appointment. While David Moyes meekly seemed to try and appease everybody (and ended up pleasing nobody) while at Old Trafford, Van Gaal will waltz into Old Trafford with a completely different attitude. He will say what he thinks, unapologetically, and it will be up to everybody else to deal with him, not the other way round. Finally we have an ego in the Premier League to match Mourinho's and their rivalry should be fascinating to watch. Whether their friendship remains in-tact is another thing. Add these two egos to the serene Manuel Pellegrini, the soundbite machine Brendan Rodgers, the professor Arsene Wenger, the all-round nice guy Roberto Martinez and whomever Tottenham bring-in and you have a fascinating cast of characters ready to roll at the top of the Premier League next season. We can't wait. Per Euro Sports
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