Football
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Garry Monk steps down as Leeds United manager

Leeds and Garry Monk were at odds with each other on Thursday night over the nature of the manager's Elland Road departure.

Monk shocked many at Elland Road by resigning from his role, just as new owner Andrea Radrizzani claimed to be offering him a three-year contract.

With the one-year deal Monk had due to expire, Leeds had planned to exercise their one-year option on the 38-year-old before immediately beginning talks over a long-term stay.

But while Monk did not address those claims specifically, he said in his own leaving letter to supporters that he had seen himself remaining at Leeds for "many years to come" and that he and Radrizzani had been "unable to agree a suitable way to move forward".

As is often the way at Leeds, the departure leaves more questions than answers.

That Leeds let their most successful manager in six years run down to only having a one-year option is one, and what Monk's sticking points were is another.

Either way, United are left looking for a ninth permanent manager in just over four years, with Aitor Karanka the early front-runner.

In the wake of the end of Massimo Cellino's chaotic reign when Radrizzani upgraded his 50 per cent stake to sole ownership on Tuesday, an air of positivity had engulfed the club.

Rising star Ronaldo Vieira signed a new four-year deal on Wednesday and then Radrizzani made his intentions to repurchase Elland Road known.

The future of Monk was the burning issue, though, and the Italian owner said he planned to give Monk a new 12-month deal before working out a way forward.

Then came Monk's resignation which Leeds said left them "shocked and disappointed."

Press Association reported that when Monk visited Elland Road on Wednesday he gave no indication as to what was to come and when the news was delivered before lunchtime on Thursday, it caught staff on the hop.

"Shocking news from GM. We were keen to do 3 years deal. We never receive any request from him and his agent. No regrets, we did our best #mot," Radrizzani tweeted in response.

Monk -- who has quickly been installed as the favourite to replace Karanka at Middlesbrough -- issued a lengthy statement of his own, but did not address his specific reasons for leaving.

"It is with huge disappointment that my time at Leeds United has come to an end," he said. "My intention was always to remain at Leeds and I saw myself at this fantastic club for many years to come. However, ultimately no agreement could be reached.

"After discussions with the new owners, we have unfortunately been unable for us to find a way to move forward together."

Monk leaves Leeds as the first manager to resign from his post since Dennis Wise in 2008 and with a best points haul since 2006.

That he survived Cellino's for a whole season is an achievement itself and the curiosity of him resigning two days after the "manager eater" can not be overlooked.

For all Monk impressed during that season, finishing seventh, there was a strong sense of disappointment inside the club.

Monk felt the season was a success but Leeds should have been in the play-offs and would have been were it not for a run of one win from their final eight games. Radrizzani pointed that out on Wednesday.

Leeds expect Monk to find work soon and must now look for their own manager. The club have not firmed up the Karanka link but it is hard to ignore. Out of work since leaving Middlesbrough in March, he has achieved success in the second tier after taking the Teessiders up to the Premier League a year ago.

Karanka served Real Madrid at the same time as new Leeds executive Ivan Bravo and worked with Victor Orto, expected to join Leeds in a technical role, at Boro.

Karanka and Monk share the same management and, if Monk heads to Teesside as many now expect, they could also share resumes.

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