Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has revealed that he has prostate cancer.
Van Gaal was leading the Netherlands national team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
According to the Daily Post, the Dutchman opened up about the illness on RTL’s show ‘Humberto’ on Sunday, which was the first time he had publicly discussed it.
The former Bayern Munich manager stated that he had kept it a secret and had been receiving treatment while continuing to serve as the senior coach of the Dutch national team.
He claimed that he had kept this information from his teammates.
Van Gaal said, “I think you don’t tell people you work with like that because it might influence their choices, their decisiveness, so I thought they shouldn’t know.”
“You don’t die from prostate cancer, at least not in ninety percent of the cases.
“It is usually other underlying diseases that kill you. But I had a pretty aggressive form and got irradiated 25 times. Then you have a lot of management to do in order to go through life.
“I did have preferential treatment in the hospital. I was allowed in through the back door when I went to an appointment and was immediately pushed into another room. I have been treated wonderfully.
“You will of course tell your friends and relatives about it. The fact that nothing has come out yet also says something about my environment. That’s great,” he added.