Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has spoken with fondness about his former manager Louis van Gaal and insisted he was a great man manager despite his tough exterior.
Mata was signed from Chelsea by David Moyes in January 2014, but just three months later the Scot was sacked after a poor run of form.
Van Gaal was appointed at the end of the season, and speaking to the UTD Podcast Mata admitted he was initially somewhat nervous about meeting the notorious coach.
"He was scary. I tell you," Mata said. "He was a very nice man; a very, very nice man; very genuine and very sensible. You wouldn't expect that but he was very sensible.
"He could get emotional and was crying sometimes, when he was speaking about important matters. When he found the right values, the right football, he got emotional."
Mata also explained how intense the Dutchman could be, giving an example from their first meeting.
"I arrive in the room and it was him, Ryan Giggs and a bottle of Rioja, red wine, with three glasses," Mata continued. "He was like: 'Do you want a drink?' and I was: 'No, no, I'm fine'. He had a drink and said: 'Tell me who you are'. I mean my name is Juan, I am 26, I play football. 'No, no. Tell me who you are as a man. Do you have family? What do you find important in life?
"From that moment, he can look scary face to face and sometimes goes close to you but, after that, he was a very warm and genuine man. He was more than a football manager with tactics, he is a great human being and I learned a lot from him."
Van Gaal spent two seasons at United, winning the FA Cup in 2016 before being fired and replaced with Jose Mourinho.
