Former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj blames manager Louis van Gaal for ruining his career. The Belgian international, who joined the Red Devils from Anderlecht in 2011, made over 60 appearances in six years and saw his career spiralling at the latter stages.
Under David Moyes in 2013/14, Januzaj was given his first start for United and rewarded Moyes’ faith with two goals against Sunderland. There was a lot of hype for the remainder of the season, but things took a turn for the worst after Moyes was sacked.
Januzaj says van Gaal didn’t given him any opportunities to prove himself and said the Dutchman’s arrival saw his career go in the opposite direction. He said: “I didn’t have any chances, really. I wasn’t in the race. (Van Gaal) wasn’t giving me the right signals to up my game,” reports the Mirror.
“I was still only a young player. When you have a young player, a manager has to give them confidence. Let them play and grow up. Obviously, that didn’t happen under Van Gaal, so it was a very difficult season for me.
“Before that, David Moyes had trusted me from day one. He understood I was a young player, but when Van Gaal arrived, everything changed, my progression stopped.”
Januzaj made 15 Premier League starts in 2013/14, compared to just seven the following season, which also saw him fail to score or register an assist. He was loaned to Borussia Dortmund in 2015/16 and Sunderland in 2016/17, but eventually was sold to Sociedad last summer.
He was given considerably more opportunities under Moyes before his sacking, but van Gaal didn’t follow suit. And failed loan spells to Germany and the North-East did little to help his development.
The Belgium winger is happy in Spain, however, saying: “My life is good in Spain. Everything is going well for me. I am enjoying football and I would say La Liga is a league made for me. It is a very technical league and I am a technical player, so it suits me well.”
Januzaj refused to rule out a return to the Premier League too, admitting: “With my quality, I think I could go play in any league I went to. I am happy here, but who knows what the future will hold? I don’t decide all this, but, if, one day, I have to be back in the Premier League, then why not?
“For now, I am in La Liga and enjoying football here. And the most important thing for a footballer is that you have to be happy.”
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