Alex Ferguson has completely changed his view on Ryan Giggs leaving Manchester United

It's no secret that Alex Ferguson sought for Ryan Giggs to be Louis van Gaal's successor as Manchester United manager.

Giggs was appointed Van Gaal's assistant manager in June 2014, with a view to succeeding the Dutchman when his contract expired in 2017. However, things didn't work out according to plan. Van Gaal won the FA Cup in May, but crucially United missed out on a Champions League spot and the Dutchman was replaced by Jose Mourinho. Giggs has opted to leave United after 29 years, and try his hand at management, rather than accept a reduced role at Old Trafford. He was reportedly unhappy to be overlooked for the role in favour of the former Chelsea manager. The 42-year-old's decision has been endorsed by his former manager, but Ferguson held the complete opposite view last year. "It is time Ryan stood on his own feet, got out there and accepted the challenge," the former United manager told the BBC on Monday.

"I think he is ready to manage and he has a lot of quality. He doesn't want to spoil that quality by going to a club where it is sacking a manager every two minutes."

However, last September, Ferguson said:

"I have heard it said that he will have to go to another club first because he doesn't have enough experience. But he is gaining experience working with Louis van Gaal and he also had experience working with David Moyes and working under me as a player. "I don't think that Ryan needs to go anywhere."

Of course, the situation at Old Trafford has altered quite a bit since then, and Mourinho, the man Ferguson overlooked in favour of David Moyes when he retired in 2013, is now the manager. Ferguson backed Mourinho's decision to keep his longtime assistant manager Rui Faria in favour of retaining Giggs. "You have got to have, in your assistant, someone you have trusted all your life," the 74-year-old said.

"When I came to United, I brought Archie Knox because he was a valuable person for me. I trusted him 100%. Jose Mourinho has had his assistant for years and, quite rightly, has stuck by his own man. "If Jose hadn't had an assistant, I know he would have taken Ryan."