The midfielder admits that it took a while for him to be convinced by the quality of the Manchester United coach and expressed sympathy for his old team-mate Victor Valdes

Barcelona icon Xavi has revealed that he thought Louis van Gaal was an "idiot" when he first took over at Barcelona.

The Dutch coach guided Barca to two league titles, a Copa del Rey and the Uefa Super Cup during his first spell at the Catalan side.

But while the midfielder admits he had initial reservations over his coaching methods, he is full of praise for the current Manchester United boss.

"After two days of training under him, I thought, 'Who is this idiot?'" he told ESPN.

"After one week, though, I thought, 'He's right.' He'll always be in my heart, Louis van Gaal.
"He is a good person, a very good trainer. He has a very strong character, but he's calm in the Premier League because there's less pressure. He's much calmer than when he was at Barca or Bayern Munich.

"He's honest, methodical and a real perfectionist. He's very demanding, he's strict and he wants to achieve the highest levels possible."

Xavi's former Barcelona and Spain team-mate Victor Valdes is currently going through a hard time under Van Gaal, having been dropped from the United squad and criticised by the coach.