Louis van Gaal reveals he is battling cancer
Van Gaal made the shock announcement during the “Humberto” show on Sunday evening.
Holland manager Louis van Gaal has revealed he is battling prostate cancer.
But the Dutchman revealed live on TV on Sunday night that he faces a fight with the deadly disease.
Van Gaal made the shock announcement during the “Humberto” show on Sunday evening.
He explained that he has already started treatment but decided not to tell his players during the recent international break so that they could concentrate on their friendly matches with Denmark and Germany.
He said: "They don't know. They see a blush on my cheeks and think: what a healthy fellow he is. That is of course not the case.
“I think you don’t tell people you work with like that because it might influence their choices, their decisiveness, so I thought they shouldn’t know.
“You don’t die from prostate cancer, at least not in ninety per cent of the cases.
“It is usually other underlying diseases that kill you. But I had a pretty aggressive form, got irradiated 25 times.
“Then you have a lot of management to do in order to go through life.
“I did have preferential treatment in the hospital. I was allowed in through the back door when I went to an appointment and was immediately pushed into another room. I have been treated wonderfully.
“You will of course tell your friends and relatives about it. The fact that nothing has come out yet also says something about my environment. That’s great.”
Van Gaal has now decided to share the news ahead of a documentary about his career being released next week.
But despite his illness, the veteran coach has vowed that he will lead his country to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of this year.
Van Gaal was in charge of United between 2014 and 2016.
He was sacked by the Red Devils and replaced with Jose Mourinho even though he had just guided them to FA Cup success.
After a five-year absence from the dug-out, LVG returned to management in 2021 to take over the Dutch national side for a third time.
He has previously led them to a third place finish at the 2014 World Cup.
The news comes after United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick hit back at Van Gaal for warning Erik ten Hag to steer well clear of the Premier League club.
The Ajax manager has emerged as the leading contender to take over permanently at Old Trafford and has been interviewed by the Red Devils.
But LVG warned Ten Hag of the perils that might lie ahead should he go to United due them being a “commercial club.”
Yet Rangnick hit back by stating United have “a bright future ahead” as he reminded Van Gaal that he was happy enough to go there eight years ago.
