Van Gaal: I will retire in 2017
Louis van Gaal has vowed to retire in 2017 and has promised his wife his current contract with Manchester United will be his last.
Van Gaal, 63, also said that, no matter how much money a Qatari club might offer him, he will not go back on his word.
He had originally intended to retire at 55 and is adamant that he will not be working when he turns 66 in August 2017.
“I will give it up [in 2017],” the United manager told reporters. “I promised that to my wife. We have not many years together any more. That is the reason.
“I have to admit I have said to her, when I met her and after our relationship seemed to be very good, that at 55 I shall quit. I am still working and next week I am 64.”
Van Gaal has won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AZ Alkmaar, and won the Champions League with Ajax as well as helping Netherlands to third place at the 2014 World Cup.
He said his one remaining ambition in the game is to enjoy similar success with United.
“I have done everything in my career as a manager,” Van Gaal added. “I have been in the Netherlands, my home country, in Spain, which is a fantastic league, and Germany is also a fantastic league.
“I participated in the World Cup. The only wish was the Premier League. Now I am here.
“Do I have to go to Qatar to earn still more money? I don’t think so. You have to enjoy also your life and your relationship with your wife.”
Van Gaal hopes to end on a high by winning the Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League with United.
“I want to do that in [my] three years [at the club],” he said. “If it is this year, then I am very happy, but I cannot say this year we shall be the champions.
“We have to fight for it. That is the most important thing. Until the end we have to challenge for the number one, and maybe we are.
“The long-term vision is to win the championship or an FA Cup or a Champions League.”
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