We assumed Louis van Gaal was completely unflappable. Nothing could possibly phase him. That’s until he met Bella the Lion.
The Dutch manager looked well and truly baffled at the sight of a 7-foot tall lioness dancing around the touchline prior to kick-off as his Manchester United faced Aston Villa.
The 64-year-old couldn’t take his eyes off the giant feline as she pranced around the dugout area. Worse was to come for Van Gaal when the blonde bombshell wandered over towards him.
Other managers have faced Bella before with varying levels of comfort. There was professional scary bloke Roy Keane, who fell for the lioness’ charms and even broke out into an uncharacteristic smile…
Arsene Wenger was similarly gracious in his reaction to the flirty feline, although he opted for a warm handshake rather than an embrace…
Jose Mourinho was less receptive. He wasn’t havimg any of it and tried to pretend that there simply wasn’t a giant furry mascot hovering over him…
How did the perplexed and slightly scared Van Gaal react? Well eventually he reached out an uneasy hand and looked incredibly nervous as it was accepted by his new friend…
We bet he can’t wait to get back to Old Trafford to tell his mate Fred the Red all about his strange encounter in the Midlands…
