Former Manchester United manager recruited a player thanks to... playing FIFA with his grandson

An intriguing story in Manchester United's transfer history involves Argentine defender Marcos Rojo and former coach Louis van Gaal.

According to revelations from former players of the club, Van Gaal reportedly learned about Rojo through his grandson while the boy was playing the FIFA video game.

This unusual story was mentioned by two former Manchester United midfielders, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, in the podcast The Good, The Bad and The Football. Butt suggested that today's younger generation can have deep knowledge about football players thanks to video games and the online environment.

He shared: "If you look at what kids do, my son around age 10 could also work in the scouting department. He knows every player, all thanks to FIFA and what they play online on PlayStation."

Scholes then continued talking about Van Gaal's rather unique recruitment method, citing Rojo as an example. He said: "It's said Louis van Gaal brought in a player thanks to his grandson. The boy told him about Marcos Rojo from Argentina while playing FIFA."

The host Paddy McGuinness appeared very surprised by this story and exclaimed: "No way!", suggesting it might just be "one of those fabricated stories". However, Nicky Butt confirmed this story is true. He stated even his own son had given similar suggestions about players. "No, that's real. My son once told me about a player and said: 'They should sign these three players'", Butt said.

The recruitment of Marcos Rojo took place in Van Gaal's first summer managing Manchester United. The Argentine defender had impressed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and was playing for Sporting CP at that time.

Van Gaal managed Manchester United from 2014 to 2016 and helped the club win the FA Cup in his final season at Old Trafford. However, despite winning a trophy, Van Gaal was dismissed just two days later. During his two seasons leading the "Red Devils", he guided the team to finish fourth and fifth in the Premier League.

After leaving Manchester United, Van Gaal took a break from coaching for about 5 years due to "family reasons", before returning to the helm of the Netherlands national team in 2021.

Before coming to England to work, Van Gaal had several successful coaching spells at top European clubs like Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and AZ Alkmaar. He also had two periods managing the Netherlands national team.

In a total of 930 matches as a manager, Van Gaal won 566 games, achieving a win rate of 60.86%. This record leads many to consider him one of the greatest strategists in modern football.

Van Gaal, now 74, was diagnosed with cancer in late 2020. However, he kept this information private until April 2022. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the former Manchester United manager underwent around 25 radiation treatments, along with hormone injections, surgery, using a catheter and urine bag while still continuing his coaching duties for the national team. A year later, in an interview, he admitted it would be "a miracle" if someday he could go to the toilet independently again.

After leaving his position as head coach of the Netherlands national team in 2022 to focus on fighting cancer, Van Gaal's health condition significantly improved over the past two years. By July 2025, he announced he was completely cured.

He shared: "I no longer have cancer. Two years ago I had to undergo several surgeries. At that time everything was very bad. But eventually things turned out fine, and now I can control the situation. I go for health check-ups every few months and everything is going very well. I am getting healthier."