Former Man Utd star wishes he’d joined Spurs, in bitter rant at Van Gaal

Former Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin says he should have signed for Tottenham rather than moving to Old Trafford.

Having impressed at Southampton, Schneiderlin earned a move to United in the summer of 2015.

However he failed to rediscover his form and left for Everton in 2017 after making only 47 appearances.

Speaking to The Athletic, the Frenchman revealed that he also had an offer from Spurs after deciding to leave St Mary’s.

In fact, he also explained why he feels he would have been better suited to Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play.

“A couple of other teams called my agent, but when Man Utd were interested there was no other choice,” the midfielder said. “Man Utd and Real Madrid are the two biggest clubs in the world.

“You can’t refuse Man Utd but if I was to listen to my heart, I would have signed for Spurs. I knew the manager and what he would want from me, his training style.

“He called me to ask me to go to Spurs. He wanted me 100 per cent. He (Van Gaal) wanted me too but we had less connection on the phone.

“So I signed more for the football club, Manchester United, than the manager.”

Schneiderlin slams ‘strict’ Van Gaal

Schneiderlin went on to explain how Van Gaal‘s “strict” nature played a part in his Old Traffored struggles.

“[He had] a style which was too strict,” the midfielder added. “We were told: ‘When you have the ball you have to do this’ instead of playing with my gut like I had done with Pochettino and Koeman.

“The worst thing for a football player is when you think too much. I started to think: ‘Ah, the manager wants me to do this’.

“You lose your instinct, you start to force things, you miss passes, you arrive too late for a challenge. Your confidence goes down.”

The 30-year-old, who now plays for Nice after leaving the Toffees this summer, also reflected on his varying spells of form.

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‘I felt restricted at Man Utd’

“I would play a very good game and then a very bad game. I wasn’t confident enough. I started to complain to my wife. It hurts me even now that I couldn’t play freely at United,” he said.

“The pressure of the club was no problem to me. I like pressure, I need pressure and adrenaline. The fans were good to me in the street.

“The problem was me because I knew I had so much to give but I couldn’t give it because I felt restricted. Looking back, I shouldn’t have been so upset, but at the time that’s how it was.

“You had to wait until the manager told you that you could eat. These things work when the players are 19 and 20, but not when you have older players.

“Van Gaal had proved that he was a top manager, but I don’t think we needed those ideas at the time.”