Stoichkov played under Van Gaal during his second spell at the Nou Camp before leaving the Spanish outfit for CSKA Sofia in 1998.

Bulgarian legend Stoichkov was far from impressed with Van Gaal and has blamed the Manchester United boss for his premature departure from the Catalan giants.

Stoichkov, speaking to Sport Sunday, said: 'I have no respect for him, he’s garbage.

'One day, when I was injured and I was with my wife at the Nou Camp. He went up to her and asked "how was possible that she married someone like me?"

'It was the fault of Van Gaal that I moved on to CSKA Sofia.'

In contrast, Stoichkov - who played a major role in helping Barcelona to four consecutive league titles during his first spell at the club - had nothing but good words to say about Van Gaal's former assistant Jose Mourinho.

He added: '[I] do not think that Mourinho was a simple interpreter or assistant. He was already a coach, but he never thought he was worth more than [Bobby] Robson.

'Mourinho understood everything. He knew everything about our team, and our opponents.'

(dailymail.co.uk)