Hristo Stoichkov slams Louis van Gaal over Barcelona exit: 'He's a bastard'
Hate is a strong word. It's inappropriate in most situations. People don't really hate someone who may have insulted them all those years ago.
But Hristo Stoichkov does.
The Bulgarian legend, who scored 314 goals in his remarkable career, hates Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.
Stoichkov, who played under the Dutchman during the 1997-98 season when the pair were at Barcelona, told L'Equipe he blames Van Gaal for forcing him out of the Camp Nou.
"I don't have any respect for him. He's a bastard.
"One day, when I was injured and I was with my wife at the Camp Nou, he went up to her and asked how it was possible to have married someone like me. She replied that I had won a Ballon d'Or ..."
Asked if Van Gaal was directly responsible for his decision to leave the club and move to CSKA Sofia in 1998, Stoichkov cut directly to the point:
"Yes, that's certain, it was Van Gaal's fault."
Stoichkov, twice the runner-up in World Player of the Year voting (1992 and 1994) scored 118 goals for Barcelona over two spells at the club - including the first from 1990 to 1995 that saw him help the Blaugrana capture four successive league titles and a European Cup in 1992.
- With translation from ESPN FC