Ryan Giggs has revealed that Louis van Gaal was the catalyst behind the Manchester United legend finally calling time on his playing career.
Giggs became the Red Devils' assistant manager under the Dutchman during the pair's time together at Old Trafford after he decided to hang up his boots in May 2014.
Surprisingly, though, the 42-year-old's decision to call it a day was made for him by Van Gaal and, in his first ever football column for the Daily Telegraph, Giggs revealed exactly what went down during the duo's first meeting upon Van Gaal's instalment as United's new manager.
Ryan Giggs: I want to manage, to make those difficult decisions, but Swansea were not the right fit https://t.co/9oxn9MMAFy pic.twitter.com/XUYCkrltCY
He wrote: "When I first met Louis we got talking and he asked me to be his assistant after just 30 minutes of conversation.
"I accepted and then he told me that he had one condition: I had to retire. In fact, he said he had made the decision for me. I was officially retired as a player as of that moment. As soon as he said so, it felt right."
Giggs' retirement brought an end to his 24-year playing career at United but, while many professional footballers struggle to adapt to life off the pitch, the ex-winger walked straight into the number two position under the much travelled Van Gaal.
With a wealth of experience from managing at the highest level for 30 years, Van Gaal helped mentor Giggs during his two-year spell as Red Devils manager, and Giggs was full of praise for the manner in which the former Ajax and Barcelona man helped him learn about what managing a football club entailed.
Giggs added: "I learned more about coaching from Louis over the next two years than I thought possible.
"He was completely thorough. Everyone in the team knew their role exactly and in the first season we made good progress. It was only last season that we lost our way although it would be wrong to say that was all Louis' fault. We must all take our share of the blame."
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