Former player and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has explicitly said that he would never manage Liverpool if given the chance. The Welshman is looking to get into club management after spending two years as an assistant manager at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal.
After the arrival of Jose Mourinho, the 42-year-old brought to an end his 27-year association with United where he has played for the youth teams, became an integral part of the Class of ‘92 and even became a caretaker manager when David Moyes was sacked.
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In that time, he has won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League titles and four FA Cups. Giggs was also linked with the Swansea job last week before losing out to Francesco Guidolin due to a lack of experience and a poor interview.
Giggs was asked the question of managing Liverpool at the Welsh Community Football awards during a Q & A session and he immediately said it would never happen.
“No! Just a no,” Giggs answered. “That’s no disrespect to Liverpool, I just wouldn’t. I would no longer have friends!
“Liverpool is a team who, for me, was always our biggest rivals, because growing up they were winning everything and they were the team to emulate. They are a fantastic club but the rivalry is too big for me to manage Liverpool.”
Giggs then explained how the rivalry with the Anfield club was hammered into him when he arrived as a young boy from Wales.
“I moved from Cardiff to Salford when I was seven,” he recalled. “You were literally growing up encouraged to dislike people from Liverpool. I played for Salford under-11s and you would play Sefton, Liverpool boys, Bootle boys and the rivalry was so great. You grow up with it.
“I'm sure Steven Gerrard would say the same about managing Manchester United. He would simply say no.
Giggs also recalled how his grandmother was a big influence in his becoming a United fan for life.
“I was always a United fan,” he said. “My grandmother hammered it home. ‘You are a United fan.’
“She loved the Busby Babes, she loved George Best, she was the driving force behind me being a Man United supporter.”
What next for Giggs?
The Welshman is on the lookout for a new club and claimed that he would be open to managing either a club from the Premier Leauge or Championship.
“As a player, I was a winner and I want to be the same as a manager,” he said. “Whether it be dropping down to the Championship, whether it be in the Premier League – I've got no preference.
“It has to be the right club and have the same ambitions and visions as I do.
Giggs also mentioned that managing the national team or a top club is what managers aspire to do.
“Managing your national team is the pinnacle or the club that you played for,” Giggs explained. “For me Manchester United - that's the pinnacle. Whether it happens or not, I don't know, but you'd always be open to it.”
