Louis van Gaal asked for Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane at Manchester United

Louis van Gaal has revealed he asked for some of the world's best players to significantly bolster his squad when he took charge of Manchester United in 2014 following David Moyes' sacking.

Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay, Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao were all brought in during Van Gaal's two-year tenure at Old Trafford, but the Dutchman said he ended up with some players he considered to be "fifth-choice" transfer targets.

"I wanted Robert Lewandowski, but when this proved difficult I tried to get Gonzalo Higuain instead," the 69-year-old told FourFourTwo.

"Before I had arrived, I also spoke with the board about Neymar. If you are at United, you have to think big - he was also interesting for the club in terms of selling shirts, and I wanted to have quick wingers,” he said.

"For that reason, I also tried to get Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez. Thomas Muller was on my wish list, too.

"I wanted N’Golo Kante. I even tried to sign James Milner, who was already quite old but very multifunctional and possessed leadership skills.

"For the defence, I wanted Sergio Ramos and Mats Hummels, because ours wasn’t the strongest in building from the back. Those were my top targets, but we couldn’t get any of them. I don’t know why, because as the manager I wasn’t involved in any negotiations.

"After I left, players like Mahrez and Kante ended up at Manchester City and Chelsea, while United couldn’t get them. I found that very odd."

He added: "I understand that clubs hold out for the highest fee because they know United are the richest in the world.

"At the same time, though, if you are the richest, you'd expect to get what you want. But it didn't happen: we only got third, fourth or fifth-choice players."