Football
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Louis van Gaal was 'jealous' of me after World Cup win, says Rivaldo

Several of Louis van Gaal's former star players have revealed they still bear grudges against the Dutchman in a new biography about the Manchester United manager, with Rivaldo accusing his former Barcelona boss of being "jealous" of him.

Dutch journalist Hugo Borst, who has known Van Gaal for more than 20 years, believes the group of players -- also including the likes of Clarence Seedorf and Luca Toni -- have an axe to grind with the sometimes controversial and outspoken 63-year-old.

Borst, whose book, "O, Louis," is published in English on Thursday, claims the former Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Netherlands boss has worked with more than 1,000 players in his career, and that the six disgruntled ones represent "a drop in the ocean."

He names Van Gaal's former Ajax players Seedorf and Winston Bogarde, two Brazilians who played for him at Barcelona, Rivaldo and Giovanni, and two men he sold during his time in charge at Bayern, Toni and Lucio.

Seedorf and Bogarde were members of Ajax's 1995 Champions League-winning squad under Van Gaal.

But Seedorf, who went on to play for AC Milan and Real Madrid, said: "The man I had come to know as a man of his word turned out to be something else entirely. Because of the way he treats people, he has lost all credibility in my eyes."

During his first spell in charge of Netherlands, Van Gaal failed to take his country to the 2002 World Cup, and Rivaldo said: "He is jealous I won a World Cup he couldn't even qualify for."

Giovanni, who was at the Camp Nou during the Dutchman's first stint there, added: "Van Gaal knows nothing about football."

Lucio was sold by Van Gaal in 2009, leaving Bayern to join Inter Milan, and ended his first season in Italy by winning the Champions League final against his former club.

He said: "Van Gaal hurt me more than anyone else in football."

However, Borst believes Van Gaal has a better relationship with his more recent players.

He wrote: "I strongly doubt whether any of the 23-man Netherlands squad of 2014 will mouth off about Van Gaal the way Toni, Rivaldo, Lucio, Giovanni, Bogarde and Seedorf have done."

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