The 67-year-old Dutchman criticised Woodward for the club’s problems, adding that the 47-year-old simply isn’t up to the job.
“At Bayern, the people in charge are football men. I always appreciated that,” Van Gaal told German magazine 11 Freunde.
“At Manchester United, on the other hand, Ed Woodward was installed as CEO – somebody with zero understanding of football who was previously an investment banker.
“It cannot be a good thing when a club is run solely from a commercially-driven perspective.
“I don’t hold it against the club. They wanted Mourinho and he was on the market.”
Van Gaal added: “Appointing Mourinho was obviously interesting from a business point of view.
“He wins games. And for a club like United, the main thing is to win trophies.
“How they are won isn’t the main priority, the English fans see it differently.
“They accept that the game is not all about attacking but it is also about defending.
“I always tried to defend high up the pitch, to be in the opposition’s half and play the game there.”
Van Gaal was sacked by Man United in 2016 just two days after guiding the Red Devils to the FA Cup.
