Paul Mitchell has confirmed he is to step down from his role as Monaco sporting director, with the Englishman having previously been linked with a move to Manchester United.
The 41-year-old will formally leave the Ligue 1 club once his successor has been appointed and settled at the Louis II Stadium. He is contracted until June 2024, but it appears he will leave well before that date.
Discussing his decision for leaving Monaco, Mitchell - who has previously worked at Southampton, Tottenham and RB Leipzig - suggested that he had fulfilled his mission with the French outfit and was keen to spend more time with his family after working away from home.
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"It was a very difficult decision," Mitchell told French newspaper Nice-Matin. "I loved my experience at this club. I have always felt a lot of support from president Dmitry Rybolovlev. We had several discussions about my mission, about the possibility of changing roles within the club, of extending my contract.
"I am very grateful to the president for trusting me. We have built a relationship based on transparency and honesty. But I have spent a lot of time away from home and my loved ones in recent years. I feel that the mission I had, which was to rebuild the sports project, has been fulfilled."
Although Mitchell gave nothing away when asked about his next career move, he told the Athletic in July 2022 that he wanted a return to the Premier League at some point in the future.
He was linked with a move to United last season after the club appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim manager. Mitchell, who is good friends with the German, was spotted at Old Trafford for a youth team fixture last term. The 41-year-old was touted as the perfect candidate for the Director of Football role with the Reds backroom set-up.
However, nothing materialised and Mitchell remained with Monaco, where he has been since June 2020.
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