Guy RitchieGuy Ritchie has reportedly told friends he decided not to fight Madonna’s plans to move their sons permanently to the US.

The singer is said to have been given permission to permanently move the boys - eight year old Rocco and three year old David - to New York, where they have been based since last summer. Director Guy had initially wanted to keep the children in London, where they have been based previously, to avoid disrupting their lives and to allow him to have easier access to the pair and his former step-daughter Lourdes.

But now a source has told the Mirror he is “gutted but resigned” and relented for the good of the children: “It is quite simple in Guy’s eyes - [they] come before him. He has always put Rocco and David’s future ahead of his own and this is why he has relented.

“He is adamant he wants to keep the boys and their sister Lourdes together. He does not want to tear them apart from each other. Guy is telling Rocco and David he will still see them a lot.

“He is already making plans to visit the children in America and looking at the possibility of them having holidays in England.”

A second source close to Guy told the Sun: “Guy will still see his sons all the time. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter where they live - they will always have the hearts and souls of Englishmen.’

“Football, appreciating the countryside, good humour and decent music - Guy’s determined these symbols of Britishness will forever be part of their lives.”