Want Backheel Breakfast in your inbox? Sign up for the email version here.
Manchester United made sure to burn Louis van Gaal on his way out the door
Louis van Gaal isn’t well liked by his players and Manchester United wants you to know.


Louis van Gaal managed Manchester United to an FA Cup win over the weekend, but he’s getting fired anyway. Reports emerged shortly after the game that he’d be let go, with José Mourinho to come in as his replacement. He showed up to get the news in person on Monday, and Mourinho is expected to be introduced on Tuesday.
In the wake of van Gaal’s apparent sacking, United went into spin control, making sure stories about discontent in the dressing room found their way into the press. Van Gaal’s players didn’t care for his tactical instructions, so they simply stopped opening emails from their manager. He’s accused of badly mishandling Memphis Depay. And by Saturday, the players knew that van Gaal was gone, win or lose. Of note, this same exact story appeared in every paper in England.
Now Mourinho is joining up, and he’ll have £100-plus million to spend. Get ready for a wild summer.
Own goal of the day
Diego Novaretti of Leon helped Pachuca into the Liga MX final with this beauty. (r/soccer)
In the news
Raphaël Varane will not be fit for the Champions League final. (AS)
Luis Suárez got hurt in the Copa del Rey final, and we’re still awaiting word on his Copa América status. (ESPN FC)
Police are looking into accusations that pitch stormers attacked Rangers players and staff after Hibs won the Scottish Cup. (BBC)
Romelu Lukaku is really trying to get the heck out of Everton. (Guardian)
Oh look, another Italian match-fixing scandal. (Football Italia)
Arsenal revealed their new shirts, and they are Arsenal-looking. (Mirror)
You should be reading
Paolo Bandini on Álvaro Morata’s big impact at Juventus. (Guardian)
Mohamed Mohamed reviews West Ham’s 2015-16 season. (Stats Bomb)
Rikita Bhasker has a deep analysis of Fernando Torres’ hair. (Unusual Efforts)
What happened this weekend
Highlights of this weekend’s NWSL games are here. (NWSL on YouTube)
Bayern sent off Pep Guardiola with a DFB-Pokal win. (Bavarian Football Works)
Juventus beat Milan to the Coppa Italia. (Black and White and Read All Over)
Barca scraped by Sevilla in a thrilling Copa del Rey finale. (Barca Blaugranes)
USMNT B won a Copa América almost warm-up. (Stars and Stripes FC)
What to watch on Monday (click for listings, all times ET)
Bundesliga: Nürnburg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (2:30 p.m.) -- The second leg of a very close promotion/relegation playoff.











