Louis van Gaal Denies Retirement Claims, Reveals Sabbatical and Valencia Offer

Louis van Gaal has denied reports that he is retiring from football management and clarified that he may only take a year out of the game having recently rejected offers from Valencia and the Chinese Super League. 

He told Cadena Ser (h/t ESPN FC): 

"

No, no no. I have not retired. I am just taking a sabbatical year and after that I will decide. It depends on the offers I receive. I will decide next July.

I could return [to Spain]. Valencia offered me the manager's job around a month ago, or five weeks. I said no.

"

Cesare Prandelli resigned from Los Che in December, and Voro Gonzalez will take charge for the remainder of the season in his fifth spell as interim manager.

Per ESPN FC's Arindam Rej, Van Gaal had been quoted as saying: "I think I'll retire. I actually wanted to quit after [the] World Cup."

According to Rej, the Dutchman added he had the option to coach in China but would not pursue the opportunity for family reasons.

Former clubs Barcelona and Bayern Munich led the tributes to Van Gaal amid the belief he had announced his retirement:

The 65-year-old had planned to retire in 2017 in order to spend time with his wife and promised her Manchester United would be his last job in management.

However, Van Gaal was sacked at the end of last season, one year short of completing his three-year contract at Old Trafford.

Despite signing off with a trophy, having won the FA Cup just days before being relieved of his duties, Van Gaal's reputation took a hit during his final year at United as they failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and frequently played poor football.

The manager enjoyed a successful, trophy-laden career overall, though:

He's also got an excellent track record in the Champions League, as OptaFranz demonstrated:

As such, while he may struggle for more work at a top Premier League club after his time with United, there will still be plenty who would jump at the chance of bringing in a coach of his pedigree—Valencia's offer shows as much.

With Van Gaal unable to complete his three-year process with United, he may feel a sense of unfinished business in regards to management, and that could indeed prompt him to rethink his retirement plans if more offers come in for him in the future.