The Jose Mourinho shake-up at Manchester United has begun in earnest and looks to have led to Ryan Giggs calling time on his three-decade Manchester United career.
Giggs, who joined United on his 14th birthday in 1987, has won practically every honour in the game and became a Manchester United legend along the way but was asked by Mourinho to take a reduced coaching role from the position he filled under Louis van Gaal.
Rui Faria, who has worked as Mourinho's assistant throughout his career, has been appointed as the Portuguese's deputy at Old Trafford with Giggs being pushed aside. The Welshman has been advised, even by some senior figures at the club, to bite the bullet and try his luck elsewhere.
As per a report in the Daily Mail, Giggs and his representatives will now discuss a pay-off deal for the final year of his contract so he will be free to discuss terms with other clubs.
Mourinho is no stranger to making unpopular decisions when he joins up with a new club. He provoked fury from sections of the Madridistas by dropping club legend Iker Casillas from the Real Madrid first team after behind the scenes bickering at the Bernabeu and, on his return to Chelsea, wasted little time in jettisoning two-time player of the year Juan Mata.
Giggs' departure from Old Trafford will leave a sour taste in the mouths of many United supporters, particularly as it seemed the Welshman was being groomed to eventually take charge at Old Trafford but, it seems, he too will pay the price for Louis van Gaal's failure in charge of the club.
There is no indication as to where Giggs will end up after his move. He was linked with the Swansea job after Garry Monk's dismissal and, more recently, Nottingham Forest was touted as a potential destination but it seems that the most decorated player in English football will have to bide his time as he waits to see where his next paycheque will come from.
The best case scenario, from Giggs' and the fans' point of view at least, is that he leaves for a few years and serves his managerial apprenticeship elsewhere before returning to replace Mourinho at Old Trafford. This represents a gamble for Mourinho too. If things don't go well from the start, sections of the stands may well start to wonder why they let one of their favourite sons head towards to exit door so easily.
Mourinho's overhaul at Old Trafford will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic and, most likely, Henrik Mkhitaryan arrive at the club with several names expected to join before the transfer deadline. Indeed, it now seems certain that Zlatan will arrive in England on Friday to put pen to paper on a one year deal.
Whichever way you see it, Mourinho is already having his influence felt at United and it's very likely that some other familiar names will follow Giggs out of the club.
