Six years ago, Marcel Bout oversaw Manchester United’s recruiting system. He has since criticized the Glazers for impeding the club’s progress in the transfer market.

Upon Louis van Gaal’s appointment in 2014, the Dutchman became a member of United, where he initially served as an opposition reconnaissance specialist.

However, he was promoted to United’s principal global scout two years later, with the responsibility of searching the globe for the next generation of talent.

When he joined, Van Gaal was dissatisfied with the club’s recruiting system and believed Bout could assist the Red Devils in identifying players.

During Van Gaal’s tenure, Manchester United failed to acquire a number of elite players, including Mats Hummels, Sergio Ramos, Ilkay Gundogan, Sadio Mane, Thomas Muller, Gareth Bale, and Harry Kane.

This prompted Van Gaal to characterize United as a “commercial” club in 2022, and Bout concurs with him. Bout also departed the club in the same year.

Bout and Van Gaal (Photo courtesy of Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Bout told Algemeen Dagblad, “I could have been an ideal guide for Ten Hag within the club.”

However, Manchester United is an exceptionally challenging institution as well as a phenomenal one.

“Everything is commercially and politically motivated.” My termination was a political termination. A powerful Dutch bloc (within the organization)… That was not appreciated by all.

“Internally, I have been critical of United.” Prolonged queues (delays) within United to make judgments regarding intriguing players were a major annoyance. Other leading European clubs now possess elite players whom our recruiting staff had observed early on.

Bout believed that United ought to have acquired two players who were members of Ajax: Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong.

Bout recommended that Manchester United leverage the sway of former Ajax player and current CEO Edwin van der Sar in order to secure a consistent influx of players to Old Trafford.

“[We needed to] Ensure that United acquires these types of talents early on in the process.” I advised, “You can always allow them to mature for a while in the Netherlands.”