Ryan Giggs to end 29-year association with Manchester United

Ryan Giggs to end 29 year association with Manchester United. File Pic
Ryan Giggs to end 29 year association with Manchester United. File Pic

Internet Desk: Steve Round says that leaving Old Trafford this summer could be the making of Ryan Giggs as a future manager of Manchester United.

New United manager Jose Mourinho was prepared to offer the long-serving Giggs a place on his coaching staff but not as assistant manager, the role he had filled under Louis van Gaal.

That post will be taken by Mourinho’s loyal and trusted assistant Rui Faria and as a consequence Sky sources have indicated Giggs is set to end his 29-year association with the club to explore opportunities in management.

Round – who served as the No 2 at Old Trafford during David Moyes’ tenure – believes that Giggs’ departure could prove to be of real benefit to the club in the long-term.

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.

It is believed that Giggs has yet to speak directly with Mourinho, who starts work at Carrington with his backroom team on Monday, and a last-ditch attempt to keep the United legend at his only professional club cannot be ruled out.

But Giggs appears to have made up his mind to go after growing disillusioned by how the club has been run in recent years. He accepts that it will be seen as a gamble, but even prominent figures at United are said to have advised him to leave Old Trafford and further his ambitions elsewhere.

The former Wales midfielder feels the club have gone back on an agreement to give him the manager’s job after he served on the coaching staff under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.