Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was crowned the club's player's player of the year for the second season in a row last night, but it was manager Louis van Gaal who became centre of attention after a bizarre speech and behaviour at the awards gathering.
The Dutchman gave a rousing recap of the Red Devils’ season, at one point shouting “we are very close” when referring to closing the gap on Premier League champions Chelsea – despite being 15 points behind with a match left - before exiting the stage, only to return to thank a saxophonist who performed earlier in the evening.
Van Gaal’s initial speech came after he presented De Gea with the player of the year award, however, he made an impromptu return when presenter Jim Rosenthal was wrapping up the evening, grabbing the microphone and shouting: “"Hello, hello, pay attention to the manager!"
He then praised the saxophonist, saying she had played “fantastically”.
The unconventional Van Gaal also gave his assistant manager Ryan Giggs a boisterous clip around the ear earlier in proceedings when the two were bidding in an auction for a round of golf with Dwight Yorke.
As for De Gea, the 24-year-old, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer after stalling over signing a new contract, gave no hints about his future and praised his team-mates after collecting his gong.
"I want to say thank you to my team-mates, they have been fantastic this season and I love them. We have a great dressing room and I would like to say thank you very much," he said on United's official website.
