Barcelona icon Hristo Stoichkov slams "d***head" Louis van Gaal for unfair treatment of Juan Riquelme

Former Barcelona attacker Hristo Stoichkov lashed onto former coach Louis van Gaal for his treatment of Juan Roman Riquelme. The Argentine midfielder played under the tutelage of Van Gaal for a solitary season, but the pair endured a rocky relationship at Barcelona.

Speaking to Radio Impact via Mirror, Stoichkov claimed that the Dutchman treated Riquelme unfairly and was pulling no punches of his assessment of the former Barcelona manager.

"Why didn't Riquelme triumph at Barca? Because he had a d***head like Van Gaal as his coach"

"It's clear, isn't it? He did not succeed because of the way Van Gaal put him on the field. But even so, the first year in Barcelona he also enjoyed a lot."

The Bulgarian, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1994, admitted that he enjoyed watching Riquelme in a Barcelona shirt and defended the Argentine maestro.

"I enjoyed his goals, passes, plays, stepovers, but when one comes who wants to invent one thing from something else, it's impossible."

"He [van Gaal] did good things that must be recognised but many have suffered in football due to his silly things."

Van Gaal's rocky relationship with former Barcelona star

Riquelme was cast aside by Van Gaal at Barcelona

Van Gaal's issues with Riquelme are well documented. In the 2002-03 season, the Dutchman referred to the Barcelona midfielder as a political signing and used him sparingly despite his outrageous ability on the ball.

Hristo Stoichkov has never been a man to bite his tongue, and an interview he did yesterday was no exception. Asked why Juan Román Riquelme wasn't a success at Barça, he said: "Because they had an idiot for a coach [Van Gaal]. As clear as that."

— Joseph Sexton (@josephsbcn) June 26, 2020

In 2018, Van Gaal claimed that Riquelme could neither score, nor run with the ball, as he compared the Argentine to compatriot Lionel Messi.

"Riquelme didn't score, he couldn't run. Have you seen Messi how he runs these days?"

The pair went their separate ways in 2003, as Van Gaal returned to his homeland to coach AZ Alkmaar and Riquelme went on loan to Villarreal. While the Argentine failed to live up to his promise at Barcelona, he dismissed rumours of bad blood between him and the Dutchman.

Speaking to Sky Sports in 2007, Riquelme claimed that he respected Van Gaal's honestly and refused to say anything wrong about the Barcelona coach.

"I will never say anything bad about him because I think that people who are true to what they think deserve to be respected. He is convinced his way of making a team play is correct and I am okay with that."

Barcelona are involved in a thrilling title race with Real Madrid in La Liga. The Blaugrana were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo in their previous league encounter and could surrender the La Liga crown to their arch-rivals.

MATCH REPORThttps://t.co/uJY03EVhmO

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) June 27, 2020

Real Madrid could go two points clear of Barcelona with a victory against Espanyol and it remains to be seen if they capitalize on the Blaugrana's slip-up.

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