Football
ESPN staff 8y

Jose Mourinho: Ryan Giggs wanted to be Manchester United manager

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Ryan Giggs made a "brave" decision to leave Manchester United to pursue his managerial career.

Giggs, 42, ended his 29-year association with the club on Saturday after spending the last two years as Louis van Gaal's assistant.

He had already managed the club for four games at the end of the 2013-14 season following the sacking of David Moyes, and Van Gaal saw Giggs as his natural successor.

But United opted to appoint Mourinho when Van Gaal was sacked in May, leaving Giggs with a decision to make over his own future. 

"It's not my responsibility that Ryan is not at the club," Mourinho said at his unveiling at Old Trafford on Tuesday. "The job Ryan wanted was the Manchester United manager.

"That's not my fault -- the owners and Mr. Woodward wanted me. Ryan, for the moment, wants to be a manager. I decided years ago I wanted to be a manager. Many of us start as assistant coaches and a moment arrives to making a decision. 

"Ryan could have been what he wanted -- any important job -- but he made a decision where you need to be brave.

"It's not easy. I had a contract at Barcelona in 2000 to be assistant for two more years. It was not easy for me. And for Ryan it's not just the step of going from assistant manager to manager. It is also the challenge of leaving his house -- it was 29 years, not 29 days.

"If I am here and he wants to come back, I will never stop him. If one day the club wants him to be manager it will be the consequence of his achievements as a manager."

During the press conference, Mourinho defended his record of promoting youth throughout his managerial career.

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