Louis van Gaal reckons Manchester City's financial breaches cost him his job at Manchester United, with the former Red Devils boss pointing to his side's failure to qualify for the Champions League in 2016 as the most likely reason he was shown the door.
The Dutchman made his feelings known in an email to "The Athletic", after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching 114 financial rules between 2009 and 2018, a case over which the club could face severe punishment.
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"For me, failing to qualify for the Champions League in 2016, at that time, was probably the decisive factor in my dismissal from Manchester United, with all the consequences and the suffering that followed," Van Gaal said.
He knows nothing can be undone. "I cannot go back in time now. Not even the Football Association can do that," he wrote. As for what punishment City deserve, Van Gaal refused to be drawn, insisting the matter is ultimately down to the judiciary.
Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford straight from leading the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup. Fourth place came in his first season, the FA Cup in his second. It still wasn't enough. United sacked him less than 24 hours after he lifted the trophy and handed the job to Jose Mourinho.
United finished that campaign on 66 points, level with fourth-placed Manchester City, but City pinched the last Champions League spot on goal difference. The Red Devils managed just 49 league goals all season.
Missing out on Europe's elite competition in 2016 was, by Van Gaal's own description, "one of the worst experiences of his professional life". His relationship with the club's chief executive collapsed too, the Dutchman accusing him of agreeing a deal with Mourinho long before the axe fell.