Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar rates Louis van Gaal even more highly than Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti.
• Mitten: What type of manager is Van Gaal?
• Beckenbauer: Van Gaal perfect for United
Van der Sar won the Champions League in 1995 when playing for the Ajax side coached by Van Gaal, who has held talks with United over becoming David Moyes’s successor, as well as featuring under him for the Dutch national team.
The 43-year-old also won the 2008 Champions League under Ferguson during a six-year spell at United as well as playing for Ancelotti at Juventus, but he said in the Daily Mirror that Netherlands boss Van Gaal is the finest of them all.
He said: “I will say more about Louis and United once his appointment his official, but I have made it clear here before that Louis van Gaal is the best manager I have ever played for.”
The Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) said on Saturday that Van Gaal expects to have further news about his bid to become United manager later this week.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has confirmed he will leave his job with the Dutch national team after this summer’s World Cup but has told his employers he will have more details about his future in the next few days.
KNVB spokesman Kees Jansma told NOS at the weekend: "He told me that there is nothing final yet. There is something going on, but he expected that he would only be able to make a further announcement no earlier than later in the week.”
The Netherlands have a 10-day training camp starting on May 7 and any move for Van Gaal may have to be tied up by that point, with reports claiming he has promised the Dutch Football Federation not to have talks with any clubs after then.
Van Gaal is the favourite to replace Moyes with Ancelotti, who has also been linked with the United job, saying on Monday that he wants to stay at Real Madrid and interim manager Ryan Giggs being deemed too inexperienced by the club hierarchy to stay in charge.