Talking to Dutch television on Monday, the Netherlands coach was quoted by Telegraph saying, “The aim is to bring them back to the No. 1 position as soon as possible, because that’s where they were under Sir Alex Ferguson. United is the biggest club in the world. Marketing-wise, but also if you look at their budget. They have to finish high.”

When asked if this is what his wife wanted, the 62-year-old said, “It was retirement, or going to England. My wife, Truus, wanted me to retire. But now we’re going to England.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was apparently the first one to have welcomed van Gaal to England.

“He was the first one I texted,” van Gaal admitted. “And he was the first one to text me back. He said he was jealous of my list of clubs.”

With his appointment, he will be provided a £200million transfer budget to help him rope in new players so as to rebuild the whole squad.

“We don’t talk about money. We talk about the players I want. We’ll see if we can get them. We also talked about who can go.”

When asked about his relationship with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, van Gaal said, “I’ll undoubtedly have a drink with Ferguson. We’ve done that before. We like each other.”

Following that, he also spoke about being in contention to replace Ferguson at Manchester United in 2002, and recalls talking to the Scottish at that time.

According to van Gaal, the part of the main reason of him being chose for the job was because of his ability to work with youngsters, a policy that has always been encouraged at Old Trafford.

“It was always a wish for me to work in the Premier League,” Van Gaal said. “To work as a manager for Manchester United, the biggest club in the world, makes me very proud. I have managed in games at Old Trafford before and know what an incredible arena Old Trafford is and how passionate and knowledgeable the fans are. This club has big ambitions; I too have big ambitions and together, I’m sure we will make history.”

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