Louis van Gaal claims he turned down the chance to manage the Belgium national team out of spite towards Manchester United.
The Dutchman was sacked by United in 2016 in order to make way for Jose Mourinho, with the club continuing to pay a severance package as part of the deal.
He says he was offered the manager's role by the Belgian FA after this - but rejected the chance because he was so upset by the way United treated him.
Van Gaal told Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant: 'It would have been really great if I had become Belgium national coach, but I was so resentful and vindictive that I let that job go by.