"ME, Europe," said the smiling figure who had just finished third in the Ethiopian cross-country championships.

They were the only words of English that 18-year-old Haile Gebrselassie knew, and they were directed at Dutch athletics agent Jos Hermens.

With minimal education and no job, running was the only possible escape. And what an escape: two Olympic and four World Championship gold medals at 10,000 metres, four World indoor titles, the World half-marathon crown, 27 world records, and 61 Ethiopian ones, from 800m to the marathon.

However, with his trademark smile, he drew a line under all that last weekend, announcing his competitive career was over after the Great Manchester Run. Typically, he then went out and joined a mass participation 10k.

When he previously announced retirement after dropping out of the New York Marathon in 2010, we warned that career obituaries were premature, and so it proved. But not now, with retirement officially communicated to the world athletics body.

In an exclusive Herald Sport interview, the man known as the Little Emperor confirmed final abdication: "I am very sure this time," he said. "I still will keep running, but not competitively."

A Sinatra-esque valedictory tour beckons and is likely to include the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow, on October 4: "I will run with the mass. No matter what time I finish in, I will do that race."

Hermens is in discussion with Brendan Foster, promoter of both the Manchester and Glasgow events. "We will not do what we did in Manchester, in the elite field. Haile is not competitive enough. He cannot come back."

Sixteenth last weekend, he failed to break 30 minutes. His 10k world road best, 27:02 in Doha, earned him $1m.

"It's sad, but I could see it coming for a long time," adds Hermens. "All the small injuries, working even harder than before, too little sleep, not enough recovery. He will be in Glasgow, but not with the elite.

"Sunday's announcement was kind of a surprise - typical Haile. He is spontaneous - not a big planner in this kind of thing."

He'd have preferred a valedictory marathon, like that of Paula Radcliffe in London, but in Berlin where Haile set two world records. "Berlin have not shown much interest, but he wouldn't need to train much to jog round in 2:30."

Geb has several reasons for quitting: "I cannot concentrate on serious training," he explained. "When you do athletics, you have to concentrate. That's a very important part. Injuries take longer to heal. When I try to run faster, the more problems I get. I have no problem with easy running, but when I start serious training, I have problems immediately. I was good until two weeks before Manchester, but then I tried to train faster, and the problem occurred. That's why I've decided not to compete any more."

He explained his vast business interests. "I employ 1600 people," he said. There is Marathon Motors Plc, a joint venture with Hyundai; a large construction company; significant real estate interests. He has built five hotels and several office blocks. There's a large coffee plantation, and he is investigating the purchase of a gold mine.

He built two schools. "They have 3500 pupils," he says. "It is true that it's expensive to run a school. Parents pay a little bit, kind of school fees, towards the salary of teachers and workers, but I pay other things from my businesses. This is payback time. I have a responsibility to play my part. The school thing is not about making money. It's about making people. I'm not doing that to make profits."

He once described his greatest pleasure: seeing the faces of workers when he handed over their pay-packets.

His coffee workers receive higher than normal wages: "We all know we were stealing coffee, tea, and all those minerals, and then making products in Europe and America," said Hermens. "If you drink a coffee in Starbucks, you know what's happening - a big shame. So he gives better salaries to the coffee farmers. And he covers all the schools' losses."

With African insight, Gebrselassie, says: "If I give something for nothing and they don't contribute, they will not value it - that's what I am thinking."

Some 15 years ago Geb spoke of standing for the Ethiopian Presidency. All of his country loved him as an athlete, but that might change if he ran for office. "It could be a dangerous decision," he told me then.

"Jos advised me not to get involved in this year's election. I have a lot to concentrate on. I am busy with my own work and an election is not an easy thing. The next election is in five years. I may come back politically then. Work keeps me very busy. It's not about making money. I used to be a runner. Now it's a different career, so I have to take care of the whole business."

I saw all six World and Olympic track titles, three indoor World records in Birmingham, and a unique 1500/3000m double at the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Maebashi. His range of ability is without equal. His indoor 1500m time, 3:31.77 is the second best ever indoors, behind outdoor world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj. It's just a second outside Steve Ovett's former world outdoor record. But the Ethiopian rarely ran the metric mile outdoors. "In a good track meeting outdoors I could maybe have run 3.28 or 3.29," he said.

He carved 11 seconds from the 5000m best for his first world record, but he and his manager believe his finest achievement was his second Olympic 10k title, in Sydney. Despite three months lost to injury he edged Kenya's Paul Tergat by 0.09 of a second - narrower than Maurice Greene's winning margin in the 100m.

"We had an appointment for an Achilles tendon operation during the Sydney Games. After the heats, there were rumours that Haile was injured," said Hermens, revealing how Tergat was conned. "When Paul came back from the stadium, Haile did some strides on the warm-up area, to show there was nothing wrong, though he was nearly limping. If Paul had run in Sydney like he did four years earlier in Atlanta [final 2000m in 5:05] he would have run away from Haile.

"That Olympic title showed not just talent, but incredible will power, character, and mindset."

Hermens, whom Gebrselassie describes as "father", broke the world one-hour record in 1976, and succeeded Johann Cruyff as Dutch sportsman of the year. He heads one of the world's most successful sports management companies and his athletes have set more than 60 world records and won more than 220 Olympic and World medals. "But if I were to die tomorrow, I'd be totally satisfied with the pleasure of having worked only with Haile."

He recalls that day at Jan Meda race course, and the boy with just two words of English, yet now eloquent and polished. "To see him, he could be President of his country. He reminds me of a small Mandela. When he walks into a room he commands it. He is incredible. He's like a son - not afraid in running or in normal life. It's tough, for he had no schooling - does all his business on intuition.

"Hopefully he will be president of that country one day, and do even more for all of Africa."