Louis van Gaal punched Ryan Giggs as pair met to discuss which Man Utd players to axe

Ryan Giggs has recalled his bizarre interaction with Louis van Gaal as they met to discuss the squad. The Dutch coach was appointed manager in 2014 and shocked Giggs with his greeting before delving into his transfer plans.

ended the 2013/14 season in temporary charge of the club, stepping up from his role as player-coach following ' sacking. The Welshman won two matches in his four-game stint before being named assistant that summer.

The club was unaccustomed to managerial churn, given Sir had called time on his illustrious reign at Old Trafford only a year earlier. It did give Giggs an opportunity to get new perspectives from different coaches. However, he was still unprepared for Van Gaal’s unorthodox nature when the time came to decide United’s outgoings.

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“I flew out to Holland to meet Louis. So we met him in a hotel room,” Giggs said on the , presented by Airways. “Louis was mad. He was mad.

“So I’ve opened the — he’s opened the door, I’m with Ed Woodward, and Louis looked at me and punched me right in the stomach. He’s gone, “You are in good shape,” and just punching—a little dig.

“I’m thinking, ‘what is he doing?’ And he said, ‘I have a list of names. I want you to tell me who stays and who goes.’ So anyway, we went through the squad.”

After joking that he told Van Gaal to release Ferdinand, Giggs added: “I’ve just gone tick, tick... I think we were one out. So instantly, he was like, ‘Yeah, I agree with that. Same thinking, same thinking.’ And he said, “You know, I want you to be my assistant and you will help me.’”

It was a summer of change at United as club icons such as Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, and Darren Fletcher all left on free transfers. Van Gaal bought in a young , with Daley Blind and Ander Herrera bolstering the midfield, coupled with the marquee arrivals of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

United improved from sixth to fourth in the that season, and the legendary Dutch manager also guided the club to glory the following year. Giggs enjoyed learning new things from Van Gaal, having spent his entire playing career under Ferguson.

“Louis was really good for me because he was, like, a different way of how I’d worked before,” Giggs told Ferdinand. “Obviously different than Sir Alex. It’s different than David Moyes. And he was very much a teacher.

“Very much, you know, obviously Dutch thinking, everything is logical. But I learned a lot, and I’ve taken a lot into the way that I managed from Louis. And he was really good with me.”

He added: “Just the way that he worked, really. The way that—his leadership. He was very much like Sir Alex in the fact that he delegated. So he trusted people around him in the different positions, which I liked. I think recognising a United player—Louis perhaps didn’t get that with certain players, who were good players.”

Two days after the 2016 FA Cup triumph, Van Gaal was sacked, paving the way for Jose Mourinho's appointment. There was no place for Giggs on the new coaching staff, despite Van Gaal previously tipping him to be his successor at Old Trafford and the 51-year-old also feeling he was on the right track to become United boss.

“It was after that four games — I wanted it then. But I wasn’t ready,” Giggs admitted about the prospect of the United job. “After Louis, I felt that I was definitely ready. Obviously Jose came in, and I left.”

In January 2018, Giggs was appointed Wales manager, successfully guiding his country to Euro 2020 qualification. From November 2020, Rob Page took temporary charge of the team before Giggs formally stepped down in June 2022.

Listen to the full Rio Meets Ryan Giggs interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify from 6am, Friday 25th April.

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