Although officially the decision was mutual the announcement came after an emergency board meeting at the Nou Camp, with the directors furious about the team’s 12th position in Primera Liga.
The former Dutch national coach will continue in his role until a compensation package can be arranged, but with Barcelona 20 points behind leaders Real Sociedad and only three points above the relegation zone negotiations won’t take too long.
With a contract that runs until 2005, van Gaal’s departure won’t be cheap for Barcelona and a figure of four million euro has been mentioned.
No successor has been announced yet.