 |
| Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal claims he never wanted to sign Pedro |
LOUIS VAN GAAL insists there is no rift with Ed Woodward over Manchester United's failure to sign Barcelona star Pedro.
Van Gaal says it was his decision to pull the plug on the deal for the Spain international - although he refused to go into the reasons.
Pedro surprisingly joined Chelsea for £21.3million this week after United had been pursuing him for a month.
Woodward, United's executive vice chairman, even jetted to Barcelona on Monday apparently to close the deal.
 |
| Pedro was expected to sign for United but ended up joining Chelsea at the 11th hour |
But 24 hours later United stunned the football world by announcing they had ended their interest and the 28-year-old player had decided to join Chelsea.
Van Gaal was not interested in clarifying why he suddenly went cold on Pedro - amid suggestions the player simply preferred to go to Stamford Bridge once Chelsea's firmed up their interest - but was keen to underline there was no tension between him and Woodward, who has come under fire from fans for failing to get the deal done.
“I have the idea that you want to separate Ed Woodward with me,” said Van Gaal. “No, never. Every day I am updated by him and I trust him.
“I don't think they [the fans] have to doubt Ed Woodward because he has proven already for many years he is the right person on the right spot.”
On Pedro, Van Gaal chose his words carefully, claiming he had never said he wanted to sign him, only that he fitted the profile of a United player.
“I cannot answer these questions [on Pedro], you know that, I have said it before, that what we are doing is a process,” said Van Gaal.
“In that process we make decisions and I think when we wanted Pedro, it was not any problem.
“That is because there was a clause in his contract, so it was the easiest transfer.
"You can write what you want, but we cannot say what we want, that is the difference.
“I have the responsibility of protecting the interests of my club and my players,
“If you ask me if Pedro is fitting the profile [of United], I cannot lie, I say yes, but I didn't say I am interested in the player, That is the difference.
“He is fast and he is creative. That is why I understand the question [about whether he fits the profile].”
Asked why United did not complete the deal for Pedro, if it was as easy as Van Gaal claimed, the Dutchman said: “I don't want to let known my strategy of players.”
He also refused to confirm his interest in Southampton's Sadio Mane.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus