Jose Mourinho has commended Ryan Giggs for his decision to leave and seek a managerial job away from Manchester United.
The Welshman spent 29 years at Old Trafford both as a player and as part of the coaching staff, but after being overlooked for the top job again this summer, he has opted to move on.
In turn, he will hope to gain experience and knowledge elsewhere with a view of one day returning to Old Trafford to manage the club he has supported since he was a child, and Mourinho believes that it was a courageous move and will welcome Giggs back if he decides to return.
“The job that Ryan wanted is the club that the club decided to give me,” he told the media, as noted by the club’s official website.
“I never run away from my responsibilities but I can say that it’s not my responsibility that Ryan Giggs is not in the club. It is not my fault. Ryan wanted to be Manchester United manager and the club decided that the job was for me.
“From this moment Ryan wants to be a manager like in 2000 when I decided I wanted to be a manager. There arrives a moment when you make a decision and Ryan made this decision. He could be what he wanted in the club, but he made a decision where you need to be brave.
“Ryan has been honest and good luck [to him], and if he wants to come back one day when I am here then I will never stop him, and I will say ‘yes’ if the club asks my opinion.
“And if he comes back as a manager it will be something natural and a consequence of his success as a manager.”
Mourinho will now hope to get United moving in the right direction after three years of disappointment, with Giggs moving on from his role as assistant manager under former boss Louis van Gaal.
While from a sentimental perspective, it would have been ideal to see the 42-year-old remain with the club and work towards taking the managerial role sooner rather than later.
However, this move will likely be more beneficial to him as a manager, and should give him what he needs in order to be better prepared for the job of United boss in the future.