Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has recently declared that he would rather see his club finish in the top four of the Premier League standings, and subsequently qualify for next season’s Champions League, than win the FA Cup trophy.

The Dutch manager stated, “I always want to achieve the goals we’ve set as a club.  That goal is to reach the top four, and a title (trophy) would be fantastic.  The top four is important for the club, if you win the FA Cup you’re still not in the Champions League.  It’s fantastic for the manager, but our goal is to reach the top four in our first season together.  To finish in the top four, it’s a fantastic achievement, and more so for Manchester United.”

In recent years, long-time Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger received heat for claiming that finishing in the top four is as good as winning silverware.  Wenger said in 2012, “People are always asking the same question but the first trophy is to finish in the top four and that’s still possible for us.  I believe that is vital for us, so let’s focus on that.”

The Frenchman recently reiterated his thoughts on the top four, saying, “Our basic is always to finish in the top four and then win a trophy on top of that.  We want always to be in the Champions League and this season it will be very difficult, because it’s very tight if you look at the table – every game now becomes a cup game.”

Wenger, however, went on to finish that winning the FA Cup is also still a priority for the Gunners, “We have won (the FA Cup) five times during my period here.  Nobody has won it more in the last 18 years, so we have always taken the competition seriously.”

Prize money is certainly a major factor in qualifying for the Champions League.  Teams that qualify for the Champions League group stage receive £7 million, plus around £3 million for each home match.  This is compared to the £1.8 million that the winners of the FA Cup will receive in the upcoming final in May.

While no one is doubting the importance of an FA Cup triumph, money certainly talks in modern day soccer.

Interestingly enough, van Gaal and Wenger face off in an FA Cup quarter-final clash on Monday evening at Old Trafford.  The massive match in Manchester will determine which team gets to advance to the semi-finals next month at Wembley Stadium in London.