Ryan Giggs is set to depart Manchester United after rejecting the offer of a reduced coaching role under José Mourinho, therefore ending his 29-year association with the club.
This is according to the Daily Mail, who say that Giggs feels that United have gone back on an agreement to give the 42-year-old the managerial position at Old Trafford after his apprenticeship under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
He also feels disillusioned by the way the club has been run in recent years and although he has accepted that it is a gamble leaving Old Trafford, he has been advised by senior figures within the club to leave Manchester to start his managerial career.
Giggs had served as a coach under Moyes’ single season in charge, before taking up the managerial role on a temporary basis in April of 2014 after Moyes had been sacked as United manager. The Welshman then reverted to being assistant manager during Van Gaal’s two-year spell in charge at Old Trafford.
His representatives will now negotiate a severance package with United over the final year of his contract, while Giggs searches for the job that will kickstart his managerial career.
Before that though, he will take up a punditry position for the final stages of Euro 2016 with ITV and he may perhaps confirm his decision to break his ties with United tomorrow night, when he analyses the Poland-Portugal quarter-final.
Giggs made a club-record 963 appearances for United after joining the club on his 14th birthday in 1987, and went on to win the Champions League twice, 13 Premier League titles and the FA Cup four times.
If the departure is confirmed, it would be a sad way to see him end his association with United, but it would definitely be a right move for Giggs to start his managerial career elsewhere. If he’s successful, who knows? He could well find his way back to United in the future.
