Reports: Ryan Giggs leaves Manchester United after 29 years

BBC Sport are among those to claim the Welshman, who still had a year to run on his contract at Old Trafford, has agreed a settlement with the club.

While an official announcement is not yet forthcoming, United are expected to confirm the news in the next few days.

The 42-year-old has spent the last two seasons as Louis van Gaal’s assistant and briefly acted as caretaker manager at the end of the 2013-14 campaign after David Moyes was sacked.

However, he was apparently irked about the handling of Van Gaal’s dismissal – with news filtering through about the Dutchman’s departure just moments after United won the FA Cup – before being overlooked for the top post in favour of Jose Mourinho.

Giggs, who joined the United academy on his 14th birthday in 1987, made his professional debut aged debut aged 17 and went on to score 168 goals in a record 963 appearances.

He clinched 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and three League Cups during a dazzling career.

After becoming player-coach under Moyes in 2013, the 42-year-old stepped into the dugout for the final four games of the season after the Scot was sacked.

He continued to get his coaching badges under the stewardship of Van Gaal, but the announcement that Mourinho would be the successor prompted speculation Giggs would cut his managerial teeth elsewhere.

He has been linked with vacancies at Swansea City and Nottingham Forest in the past few months, although both posts have since been filled.