Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal has confirmed he is currently battling prostate cancer.
The 70-year-old revealed the news during an appearance on RTL's 'Humberto' programme on Sunday evening, while promoting his new film 'LOUIS'.
Van Gaal has managed Barcelona and Manchester United in his illustrious career which has spanned over four decades.
Per TheEuropeanLad, van Gaal declared: "In each period during my time as manager of the National Team I had to leave in the night to go to the hospital without the players finding it out until now. While thinking I was healthy. But.. I am not.
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"I didn’t want to tell it to my players because it could have influenced their performances."
He went on to explain it's an 'aggressive' form of prostate cancer and so far, van Gaal has undergone 25 treatments battling the disease.
Van Gaal continued per Metro: "You don’t die from prostate cancer, at least not in ninety per cent of the cases.
"It is usually other underlying diseases that kill you. But I had a pretty aggressive form, got irradiated 25 times.
"Then you have a lot of management to do in order to go through life.
"I did have preferential treatment in the hospital.
"I was allowed in through the back door when I went to an appointment and was immediately pushed into another room. I have been treated wonderfully."
Friends and family have been aware of van Gaal's fight for some time and he's thankful the news didn't leak out.
His battle with cancer is discussed in the film.
Van Gaal is currently in his third stint as Netherlands boss, having reached third place in the 2014 World Cup in his last tenure.
Following a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign, van Gaal replaced Frank de Boer and helped his country qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
The Netherlands were drawn in Group A of the competition alongside hosts Qatar, Ecuador and Senegal.
Van Gaal still intends to lead Oranje at the World Cup, which starts in November.
Topics: Louis Van Gaal, Netherlands
Daniel Marland