Ryan Giggs
OBE
Personal information
Giggs with Manchester United in 2015
Full name	Ryan Joseph Giggs^[1]
Birth name	Ryan Joseph Wilson
Date of birth	(1973-11-29) 29 November 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Canton, Cardiff, Wales
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.79 m)^[2]
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Deans FC
1985–1987	Manchester City
1987–1990	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–2014	Manchester United	672	(114)
International career
1989	England U16	1	(1)
1989	Wales U18	3	(0)
1991	Wales U21	1	(0)
1991–2007	Wales	64	(12)
2012	Great Britain	4	(1)
Managerial career
2014	Manchester United (interim)
2014–2016	Manchester United (assistant)
2018–2022	Wales
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973^[3]) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation,^[4]^[5] and one of the best wingers in the history of football.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] Giggs spent his entire professional career at Manchester United, where he also served as the club's interim player-manager and assistant manager. He is one of the most decorated footballers of all time, and is one of only 51 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.^[10]^[11]^[12]

The son of rugby union and Wales international rugby league footballer Danny Wilson, Giggs was born in Cardiff but moved to Manchester at the age of six when his father joined Swinton RLFC. Predominantly a left midfielder, he began his career with Manchester City, but joined Manchester United on his 14th birthday in 1987. He made his professional debut for the club in 1991 and spent the next 23 years in the first team. He retired from playing with the end of the 2013–14 season, holding the club record for competitive appearances – 963. Towards the end of the 2013–14 season, he became the club's interim player-manager following the sacking of David Moyes. He was assistant manager under Moyes' permanent replacement, Louis van Gaal. Giggs left United in July 2016, following the appointment of José Mourinho.^[13] During his time at United he won 13 Premier League titles – more than any other player in history, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles, a FIFA Club World Cup, an Intercontinental Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and nine FA Community Shields. Manchester United and Liverpool are the only clubs in English football history to have won more league championships than Giggs.^[14]

At international level, Giggs played for the Wales national team 64 times between 1991 and 2007, and captained the Great Britain team that competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He became the new manager of the Wales national team in January 2018.^[15] Giggs led Wales to qualification for UEFA Euro 2020.^[16] He did not manage the team at the tournament however, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as he was arrested on suspicion of assault. His assistant manager Rob Page took charge in his absence.^[17] Giggs resigned in June 2022, and Page was named as his successor.^[18]

Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993), though he did not win the PFA Player of the Year award until 2009. He was the only player to play in each of the first 22 seasons of the Premier League, as well as the only player to score in each of the first 21 seasons. He was elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade in 2003, and the FA Cup Team of the Century. He holds the record for the most assists in Premier League history, with 162, and the most assists in UEFA Champions League history with 41.^[19] He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 Birthday Honours for his services to football.^[20]

Early years

[edit]

Giggs was born at St David's Hospital in Canton, Cardiff, to Danny Wilson, a rugby union player for Cardiff RFC, and Lynne Giggs (now Lynne Johnson). Giggs is mixed race – his paternal grandfather is a Sierra Leone Creole^[21] – and has spoken of the racism he faced as a child.^[22] As a child, Giggs grew up in Ely, a suburb of western Cardiff. His younger brother, Rhodri, is a former manager of EFL League Two club Salford City.^[23]

He spent much time with his mother's parents and playing football and rugby league on the roads outside their house in Pentrebane. In 1980, when Giggs was six years old, his father switched from rugby union to rugby league, and signed for Swinton RLFC, forcing the whole family to move north to Swinton, a town in Salford, Greater Manchester. The move was a traumatic one, as Giggs was very close to his grandparents in Cardiff, but he would often return there with his family at weekends or on school holidays.

After moving to Salford, Giggs appeared for the local team, Deans FC, who were coached by Manchester City scout Dennis Schofield. Schofield recommended Giggs to Manchester City, and he was signed up to their School of Excellence.^[24] Meanwhile, Giggs continued to play for Salford Boys, who went on to reach the final of the Granada Schools Cup competition at Anfield in 1987. Giggs captained the Salford team to victory over their Blackburn counterparts, was man of the match, and the trophy was presented to him by Liverpool chief scout Ron Yeats.^[25] Giggs also played rugby league at schoolboy level.^[26]

While playing for Deans, Giggs was observed regularly by local newsagent and Old Trafford steward Harold Wood. Wood spoke personally to Alex Ferguson who sent a scout, and Giggs was eventually offered a trial over the 1986 Christmas period. Giggs played in a match for Salford Boys against a United Under-15s side at The Cliff and scored a hat-trick, with Ferguson watching from his office window. On 29 November 1987 (his 14th birthday), Ferguson turned up at Giggs' house with United scout Joe Brown and offered him two years on associate schoolboy forms. They offered to waive YTS forms and persuaded Giggs to sign by offering the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level, playing at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 1989.^[27] He changed his surname to that of his mother at the age of 16, when his mother remarried, two years after his parents' separation.^[28]

Manchester United

[edit]

1990–1995: Debut and early career

[edit]

Giggs was offered his first professional contract on 29 November 1990 (his 17th birthday). He accepted the contract and became a professional two days later (1 December 1990).

At this time, United had recently won the FA Cup – their first major trophy since the appointment of Alex Ferguson as manager in November 1986. After two seasons in the league where they had finished mid-table, they were finally starting to threaten the dominance of Liverpool and Arsenal, though they only managed to finish sixth that season. Ferguson's quest for a successful left-winger had not been an easy one since the departure of Jesper Olsen two years earlier; he had initially signed Ralph Milne, but the player was not a success at United and lasted just one season in the first team before Ferguson secured the Southampton winger Danny Wallace in September 1989. Wallace had failed to shine at Old Trafford, and by the time Giggs turned professional Wallace was contending with 19-year-old Lee Sharpe for the role of first-choice left winger.^{[citation needed]}

Giggs made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991, as a substitute for the injured full-back Denis Irwin in a 2–0 defeat.^[11] In his first full start, Giggs was credited with his first-ever goal in a 1–0 win in the Manchester derby on 4 May 1991, though it appeared to be a Colin Hendry own goal. However, he was not included in the squad of 16 that defeated Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final 11 days later. Lee Sharpe, who had won the race to displace Danny Wallace, took to the field as United's left winger, while Wallace was selected as a substitute. Giggs became a first-team regular early in the 1991–92 season, yet remained active with the youth system and captained the team, made up of many of "Fergie's Fledglings," to an FA Youth Cup triumph in 1992. ^{[citation needed]}

Giggs paved the way as the first of many Manchester United youth players to rise into the first team under Ferguson but as the youngest member of the United first-team squad, Giggs looked to the older players such as Bryan Robson for advice. Robson recommended that Giggs sign up with Harry Swales, the agent that he himself had inherited from Kevin Keegan.^[29]

That season, Giggs played in the team that finished as runners-up to Leeds United in the final year of the old First Division before the advent of the Premier League. United had led the table for much of the season before a run of dismal results in April saw them overtaken by the West Yorkshire side. Giggs collected his first piece of silverware on 12 April 1992 as United defeated Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final after Giggs had set up Brian McClair to score the only goal of the game. In the semi-final he had scored the winning goal against Middlesbrough.^[30] At the end of the season, he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year – the award which had been credited to his colleague Lee Sharpe a year earlier.^{[citation needed]}

By the start of the 1992–93 season, the first season of the newly formed Premier League, Giggs had ousted Sharpe to become United's first-choice left-winger. He was recognised as one of English football's two best emerging young wingers, alongside Steve McManaman,^[31] who were notable for being a throwback to the Stanley Matthews era of the 1950s winger.^[32] Giggs helped United to their first top-division title win for 26 years.

His emergence and the arrival of Eric Cantona heralded the dominance of United in the Premier League. Ferguson was protective of him, refusing to allow Giggs to be interviewed until he turned 20, eventually granting the first interview to the BBC's Des Lynam for Match of the Day in the 1993–94 season.^{[citation needed]} United won the double that season, and Giggs was one of their key players alongside the likes of Cantona, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes. Giggs also played for United in the Football League Cup final, where they lost 3–1 to Aston Villa.

Off the pitch, newspapers claimed Giggs had "single-handedly revolutionised football's image" when he appeared as a teenager "with pace to burn, a bramble patch of black hair bouncing around his puppy popstar face, and a dazzling, gluey relationship between his impossibly fleet left foot and a football."^[33] As a result of this, he was afforded many opportunities not normally offered to footballers at his young age, such as hosting his television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which aired in 1994, and also had a book based on the series. Giggs was part of the Premier League's attempt to market itself globally, and he featured on countless football and lad mag covers, becoming a household name and fuelling the era where footballers started to become celebrity idols on a par with pop stars,^[34] in and around the mid to late 1990s. Despite his aversion to attention, Giggs also became a teenage pin-up and was once described as the "Premiership's First Poster Boy,"^[35] and the "boy wonder."^[36] He was hailed as the first football star to capture the public imagination in a way unseen since the days of George Best;^[37] the irony was that Best and Bobby Charlton used to describe Giggs as their favourite young player, turning up at The Cliff training ground just to watch him. Best once quipped, "One day they might even say that I was another Ryan Giggs."^[37]

At the end of the 1993–94 season, Giggs won a second title in a row, and became the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards, a feat equalled by Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney and Dele Alli.^[38]

Giggs proved to be a scorer of great goals, with many of them being shortlisted for various Goal of the Season awards. Widely regarded as among his best were those against Queens Park Rangers in 1994, Tottenham in 1994, Everton in 1995, Coventry in 1996, and his solo effort against Arsenal in the replay of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final.^{[citation needed]} During extra time, Giggs picked up possession after Patrick Vieira gave the ball away, then ran from his own half, dribbled past the whole Arsenal back line, including Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown before launching his left-footed strike just under David Seaman's bar and beyond his reach. He famously whipped off his shirt during his goal celebration as he ran over to his teammates. It also has the distinction of being the last ever goal scored in an FA Cup semi-final replay as, from the following season, the FA Cup semi-finals are decided in a single game, with extra time and a penalty shootout if required.^[39]

1995–2000

[edit]

1994–95 saw Giggs restricted through injury to 29 Premier League games and only 1 goal. Later in the season, he recovered his form and fitness, though it was too late to help United to any major trophies. A failure to beat West Ham United on the final day of the season saw them lose the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers. A week later, Giggs came on as a substitute in the FA Cup final against Everton, but United lost 1–0.

On a more positive side in the 1994–95 season, Giggs did get on the scoresheet twice in the opening Champions League game against IFK Göteborg (a 4–2 win, although United ultimately failed to progress to the quarter-finals) and also managed a goal in the FA Cup fourth-round victory over Wrexham, meaning that he had managed four goals in all competitions that season.

In 1995–96, Giggs returned to full form and played a vital part in United's unique second double, with his goal against Everton at Goodison Park on 9 September 1995 being shortlisted for the "goal of the season" award, though it was eventually beaten by a goal by Manchester City's Georgi Kinkladze. In November that season, Giggs scored two goals in a Premier League match against Southampton, where United won 4–1 to keep up the pressure on a Newcastle United side who actually went ten points clear on 23 December but were finally overhauled by United in mid-March. Giggs was also in the side for United's FA Cup final win over Liverpool on 11 May 1996, though Eric Cantona scored the only goal of the game. By now, Giggs had several new key colleagues in youngsters Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Beckham took over from Andrei Kanchelskis on the right-wing and Butt succeeded Paul Ince in central midfield to complete a new look United midfield along with Giggs and Roy Keane.^{[citation needed]}

The following season, Giggs had his first real chance to shine in Europe. Having played a key role in United winning their third league title in four seasons, he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the first United side in 28 years to achieve this. However, their hopes of European glory were ended by Borussia Dortmund, who edged them out by winning each leg of the semi-final 1–0. At the end of this season, Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero told Italian media that Giggs was one of his two favourite players.^[40]

In 1997–98, United were pipped to the Premier League title by Arsenal, following a dismal run of form in March and early April, leaving them without a trophy for only the second time since 1989. The following season, Giggs missed a lot of games through injury, but when he was fit his form was excellent and he played in both of United's cup finals that season. Memorable moments were his extra-time goal in the FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Arsenal giving United a 2–1 win,^[41] and his 90th-minute equaliser in the home leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Juventus.

The highpoint in the 1998–99 season was when Giggs set up the equalising goal scored by Teddy Sheringham in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final that set United on their way to the Treble.

Giggs was also the Man of the Match as United beat Palmeiras 1–0 to claim the Intercontinental Cup later that year.^[42]

2000–2005

[edit]

Giggs became United's longest-serving player when Denis Irwin left in May 2002, and he became a pivotal part of the club, despite still being in his 20s. Giggs continued to excel in the four years that followed the Treble triumph of 1999. United were Premier League champions in three of the four seasons following the treble, as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals three times and the semi-finals once. In April 2001, he signed a new five-year contract.^[43]

Giggs celebrated his 10-year anniversary at Old Trafford with a testimonial match against Celtic at the start of the 2001–02 campaign, losing 4–3 in a game featuring a cameo by Eric Cantona.^[44]^[45] However, this was one of the most disappointing seasons United had endured since Giggs made his debut, as a dismal run of form in early winter ultimately cost them the league title and they were surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League on away goals in the semi-finals by German underdogs Bayer Leverkusen. A year later, on 23 August 2002, he bagged his 100th career goal in a draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.^[46]

The 2002–03 season was one to forget for Giggs. He was forced to defend his poor form, insisting that he was not finished.^[47]^[48] This dip in form included being booed off the pitch in the 74th minute of a 1–1 semi-final first leg draw at home to Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup on 7 January^[49]^[50] and an open-goal miss during a 2–0 defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup on 16 February that was described as the worst of his career, and prompted chants by the Arsenal fans of "Give it to Giggsy."^[51]^[52] A week later, on 24 February, Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon refused to rule out the possibility of Giggs leaving Old Trafford, saying: "It's too soon to say whether we would even consider a bid, and all we want to do at the moment is concentrate on this season." It was further claimed that a rift in the dressing room was contributing towards Giggs' possible departure.^[53] However, the following day, Giggs played one of his most memorable games, in a 3–0 victory against Juventus. After coming on as a substitute for Diego Forlán in the eighth minute, Giggs scored twice,^[54]^[55] including a goal that would later be heralded as one of his greatest goals and one of his finest Champions League moments.^[56]^[57]

After speculation throughout the season that Giggs was close to joining Italian club Inter Milan, possibly with Brazilian striker Adriano as a makeweight,^[50]^[58]^[59] Giggs quashed the rumours by saying he was happy at United.^[50]^[60]

He played in his fourth FA Cup triumph on 22 May 2004, making him one of only two players (the other being Roy Keane) to have won the trophy four times while playing for Manchester United. He has also finished with a runners-up medal three times (1995, 2005 and 2007). His participation in the victory over Liverpool in September 2004 made him the third player to play 600 games for United, alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game.^[61]

In 2005, Giggs' form had improved and was no longer suffering with the hamstring injuries which had plagued his career,^[62] which he attributed to taking up yoga.^[63]

2005–2010

[edit]

Giggs signed a two-year contract extension with United when chief executive David Gill relented on his normal policy of not signing players over 30 to contracts longer than one year. Giggs benefited from being largely injury-free aside from a series of hamstring problems.

Giggs scored his first goal of the 2006–07 season in a 2–1 victory over Watford on 26 August 2006, with his goal proving to be the winner.^[64] Giggs scored the winner in United's next game, a 1–0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 9 September, scoring a header in the eighth minute.^[65] Giggs provided a goal and an assist in the final Champions League group game against Benfica on 6 December, with his free-kick being converted by Nemanja Vidić before Giggs headed in a Cristiano Ronaldo cross.^[66]

In February 2007, Giggs scored the final three goals of his season. He scored the final goal in a 4–0 away win against Tottenham on 4 February which put United six points clear of Chelsea.^[67] On 20 February, Giggs scored the winning goal against Lille in the UEFA Champions League with a quickly taken free-kick that caused the Lille players to walk off the pitch in protest.^[68] Giggs later said he was amazed by the situation, as no rule had been broken.^[69] On 24 February, Giggs scored the equalising goal against Fulham in a game which United went on to win via a late Cristiano Ronaldo winner to go nine points clear of Chelsea.^[70]

On 6 May 2007, with Chelsea only able to manage a 1–1 draw with London rivals Arsenal, Manchester United became the champions of England. In doing so, Giggs set a new record of nine league titles, beating the previous record of eight he shared with Alan Hansen and Phil Neal (who won all of their titles with Liverpool).^[71] In the 2007 FA Cup Final, Giggs had a goal ruled out in the 14th minute of extra time after referee Steve Bennett deemed him to have fouled goalkeeper Petr Čech in forcing the ball across the line.^[72]

Giggs played a starring role in United's 2007 FA Community Shield victory after netting in the first half to bring the game to a 1–1 draw, which led to penalty triumph for the Red Devils after 'keeper Edwin van der Sar saved all of Chelsea's first three penalties; the goal was Giggs' first professional goal at Wembley Stadium.^[73]^[74]

In the 2007–08 season, Alex Ferguson adopted a rotation system between Giggs and newcomers Nani and Anderson.^[75] Giggs scored his 100th league goal for United against Derby County on 8 December 2007, which United won 4–1.^[76] More landmarks have been achieved: on 20 February 2008 he made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League in a game against Lyon^[77] and on 11 May 2008, he came on as a substitute for Park Ji-sung to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for United.^[78] Giggs scored the second goal in that match, sealing his, and United's, 10th Premier League title. Ten days later, on 21 May 2008, Giggs broke Bobby Charlton's appearance record for United when coming on as an 87th-minute substitute for Paul Scholes in the UEFA Champions League Final against Chelsea.^[79] United won the final, defeating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time, with Giggs converting the winning penalty in sudden death.

At the start of Manchester United's 2008–09 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson began placing Giggs at central midfield, behind the forwards, instead of his favoured wing position. Sir Alex Ferguson said in an interview, "(Giggs) is a very valuable player, he will be 35 this November but at 35, he can be United's key player. At 25, Ryan would shatter defenders with his run down the flank, but at 35, he will play deeper."^[80] Giggs has begun taking his coaching badges and Ferguson has hinted that he would like Giggs to serve as his coaching staff after retirement like Ole Gunnar Solskjær did.^[81]

Following speculation earlier in the year,^[82] in February 2009, Giggs signed a one-year extension to his current contract – which was due to expire in June 2009.^[83] After a successful season, Giggs was short-listed along with four other Manchester United teammates for the PFA Player of the Year.^[84] On 26 April 2009, Giggs received the award, despite having started just 12 games throughout the 2008–09 season (at the time of receiving the trophy). This was the first time in his career that Giggs had received the award.^[85] Prior to the awards ceremony, Alex Ferguson had given his backing for Giggs to win the award and stated that it would be fitting, given Giggs' long term contribution to the game.^[86] Giggs made his 800th appearance for Manchester United on 29 April 2009, in the 1–0 semi-final win over Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League.^[87] On 16 May 2009, Manchester United won the Premier League after a 0–0 draw against Arsenal, both United's and Giggs' 11th Premier League titles.

Giggs scored his first Manchester United hat-trick in a pre-season friendly against Hangzhou Greentown after coming on as a second-half substitute.^[88]

On 12 September 2009, Giggs made his 700th start for United.^[89] Giggs scored his 150th goal for United, only the ninth player to do so for the club, against Wolfsburg in his first UEFA Champions League game of the season. On 28 November 2009, the eve of his 36th birthday, Giggs scored his 100th Premier League goal – all for Manchester United – scoring the final goal in a 4–1 victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park, and becoming only the 17th player to reach the milestone in the Premier League.^[90]

On 30 November 2009, the day after his 36th birthday, it was reported that Giggs would be offered an additional one-year contract which would run until the end of the 2010–11 season and see him past the 20th anniversary of his first game and first goal for United. On the same day, Giggs was nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009, which he subsequently won.^[91] On 12 December 2009, Giggs' surpassed countryman Gary Speed's outfield record of 535 Premier League games. On 18 December 2009, Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with United, keeping him at the club until June 2011, taking him past the 20th anniversary of his first professional contract and that of his first-team debut – a rare occurrence of a player reaching the 20-year mark with the same club and with unbroken service.^[92] On 31 December 2009, Giggs was named the Manchester United Player of the Decade.^[93]

2010–2014

[edit]

On 24 April 2010, Giggs scored the first ever league penalties of his career, netting two penalties in a 3–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur.^[94]^[95]

On 16 August 2010, Giggs kept up his record of scoring in every Premier League season since its inception as he netted United's third in their 3–0 home victory over Newcastle United in their opening fixture of the new campaign. As he found the net in the final two seasons of the old Football League First Division, he had now scored in 21 successive top division campaigns.^[96] On 17 January 2011, Giggs reached 600 league appearances (all for Manchester United), as he played in their goalless draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.^[97] Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester United on 18 February, keeping him at the club until June 2012.^[98] On 6 March 2011, Giggs surpassed the Manchester United league appearance record of Bobby Charlton by playing his 607th game against Liverpool. On 26 April, against Schalke 04 in the Champions League semi-final first leg, Giggs scored the first goal from a Wayne Rooney pass, also making himself the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history to date.^[99] Giggs also played in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final, where Manchester United were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona.^[100]

Giggs made his first start of the 2011–12 season in the UEFA Champions League away at Benfica. He scored United's equalising goal in a 1–1 draw at the Estádio da Luz, in the process breaking his own record for the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history. He also became the first man ever to score in 16 different Champions League campaigns, moving clear of Raúl who was tied with Giggs on 15 seasons. Raúl though holds the record for scoring in 14 consecutive Champions League seasons. On 19 November, Giggs played in a league game in his home country of Wales for the first time in his distinguished career against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium in a United 1–0 win. Giggs maintained his record of scoring in each of the past 22 top-flight seasons by scoring United's third goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage in a 5–0 win on 21 December, his first of the season in the league. On 10 February 2012, Giggs signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester United.^[101]

On 26 February 2012, Giggs made his 900th appearance for Manchester United, in a 2–1 away win against Norwich City. He marked the occasion by scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute, scoring from a cross by Ashley Young.^[102] After the match, Alex Ferguson told BBC Sport he believed that a player playing in 900 games for one club "won't be done again".^[103] By March 2011, Giggs had played with more than 140 different players for the Manchester United first team.^[104]

On 19 October 2012, Giggs (just over a month short of his 39th birthday) told The Daily Telegraph that he would like to move into management when he retires as a player. He also said that he was still undecided on whether he would still be playing after the current football season ends.^[105]

Giggs scored his first Premier League goal of the 2012–13 season against Everton on 10 February 2013 in a 2–0 home win, extending his goalscoring sequence to 23 consecutive seasons in the highest division including all 21 Premier League seasons.^[106]^[107]

He signed a new one-year contract with Manchester United on 1 March 2013, keeping him at Old Trafford until June 2014.^[108]^[109] On 5 March, Giggs made his 1,000th competitive appearance in a 2–1 home loss to Real Madrid in the second leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.^[11] On 4 July, Giggs was appointed as player-coach by new manager David Moyes with immediate effect.^[110]^[111] Giggs became interim player-manager when Moyes was sacked in April 2014.^[112]

On 2 October, after coming off the substitute bench against Shakhtar Donetsk, Giggs became all-time leading appearance holder in the European competition, overtaking Raúl, an achievement he described as "special".^[113]^[114] In November, Giggs celebrated his 40th birthday, leading to media outlets and football figures praising him for reaching the milestone while still an active professional footballer.^[115]^[116]^[117]^[118]^[119]

Giggs announced his retirement from professional football on 19 May 2014 in an open letter to all Manchester United fans posted on the club website.^[120]^[121] Upon retirement, Giggs received many plaudits for the achievements he earned throughout his career, and the longevity of it.^[122]^[123]^[124]^[125]^[126]

International career

[edit]

England Schoolboys

[edit]

Born in Cardiff to Welsh parents, Giggs represented Wales at international level. As a youngster, Giggs captained England Schoolboys, but contrary to popular belief, he was never eligible for the senior England team (eligibility at the schoolboy level depends solely upon the location of the school, in Giggs' case Moorside High School in Salford).^[127] In October 2009, new rules were introduced for the Home Nations' associations that would have enabled Giggs to represent England had he not already represented Wales in an official competition,^[128] but Giggs has always maintained that he would have chosen to play for Wales anyway; he stated in 2002, "I'd rather go through my career without qualifying for a major championship than play for a country where I wasn't born or which my parents didn't have anything to do with".^[129]

In his one year with the England Schoolboys team, Giggs played nine times, all as captain, winning seven matches and losing twice.^[130] Among the wins was a 4–0 victory over his Welsh peers, many of whom he would play alongside when he made the step up to the Welsh youth team the following year.^[131]

Wales

[edit]

Giggs played for Wales 64 times, but never at a major international tournament.

In May 1991, Giggs made his debut for the Wales Under-21s, a 2–1 victory over Poland in Warsaw.^[132] It would turn out to be his only appearance for the team, as he received a call-up to the senior team later that year.

Giggs made his international debut away to Germany in October 1991,^[133] coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Eric Young at the age of 17 years, 321 days to become the youngest player to appear for the Welsh senior team; he held this record until June 1998, when Ryan Green appeared against Malta at the age of 17 years, 226 days.^[134] Wales were still in contention to qualify for UEFA Euro 1992 before the game, but a 4–1 victory for the Germans, who went on to win their remaining games against Belgium and Luxembourg, meant they qualified at Wales' expense.

Giggs' first senior goal for Wales came on 31 March 1993 in a 3–0 win over Belgium in Cardiff in a World Cup qualifying game, the same game in which Ian Rush scored for Wales for a record 24th time.^[135]

After his international debut in 1991 against Germany, Giggs missed 18 consecutive friendly games before finally making his first friendly appearance for Wales against Finland in March 2000,^[136] by which time he had already accrued 25 caps.^[137] The reason for his continued absence from non-competitive fixtures was largely a protective measure against unnecessary injuries; in his autobiography, Giggs states: "At that time, whenever I played two games in one week I always seemed to pick up an injury, so [Alex Ferguson] and I sat down and looked at it game by game. If the international was a friendly, the feeling was that I didn't have to play."^[138] Regardless, his regularly withdrawing from Wales squads and routinely missing friendlies was criticised.^[139]

In a qualifier against England for the 2006 FIFA World Cup at Old Trafford where Wales lost 2–0, Giggs played against some present and former Manchester United teammates including David Beckham, Gary Neville, and Wayne Rooney.^[140]^[141]^[142] During a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on 12 October 2005, Giggs scored a rare double in a 2–0 win, but Wales failed to reach the play-offs.^[143]

In September 2006, he played in a friendly against Brazil at White Hart Lane where Wales lost 2–0. Brazil coach Dunga complimented Giggs' performance by stating he would not look out of place playing for the five-time world champions alongside stars such as Kaká and Ronaldinho.^[144]

Giggs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday, 30 May 2007, at a press conference held at The Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, drawing the curtain on a 16-year international career.^[81] He cited concentrating on his United career as the main reason for stepping down. His final game for Wales, and as captain, was the Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic on 2 June at Cardiff. He earned his 64th cap in this game and won the Man of the Match award as Wales drew 0–0.^[145] In November, he was one of three players in the final nomination by the FAW for the Wales Player of the Year award, which was ultimately won by Craig Bellamy.^[146]

In an interview with the Western Mail on 26 March 2010, Giggs hinted that he might be tempted to come out of international retirement for his country's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, in order to cover for the injured Aaron Ramsey.^[147] He later clarified his position to BBC Radio Manchester, saying that he would only return to Wales duty in an emergency.^[148]

Great Britain

[edit]

On 28 June 2012, Giggs was confirmed as one of the three over-age players selected for Great Britain to compete at 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Craig Bellamy and Micah Richards,^[149] and he was subsequently named the team captain.^[150]

He scored with a header against the United Arab Emirates in a 3–1 win on 29 July to become the oldest goalscorer in the football competition at the Summer Olympics at the age of 38 years and 243 days, beating an 88-year-old record that had been held by Egypt's Hussein Hegazi.^[151]^[152] In addition, by featuring in the same match, he became the oldest outfield Olympic footballer.^[153]

Managerial career

[edit]

Manchester United

[edit]

Giggs was appointed as a player-coach at Manchester United on 4 July 2013,^[110] as part of the coaching staff under new manager David Moyes. When Moyes was sacked on 22 April 2014, after less than 10 months in the job, Giggs took over as the club's interim player-manager,^[112] compiling a record of two wins, a draw and a defeat in the final four games of the 2013–14 season.^[154] After his final match in charge, a 1–1 draw with Southampton, Giggs admitted to breaking down in tears, in part due to the pressure of managing United, and also said he had struggled to sleep during the period.^[155]^[156] When Louis van Gaal was announced as Moyes' permanent replacement on 19 May 2014, Giggs was also appointed as Van Gaal's assistant manager.^[157]

Giggs was praised for giving debuts to youngsters James Wilson and Tom Lawrence in a 3–1 victory over Hull City, a game in which he brought himself on as a substitute for Lawrence.^[158]^[159]^[160]^[161]

Giggs was suggested by many – including Louis van Gaal – as the Dutchman's potential successor at Manchester United.^[162]^[163] However, following the appointment of Portuguese coach José Mourinho, Giggs announced his departure from the club on 2 July 2016.^[164]

Wales

[edit]

A short video of Giggs on the 70th birthday of the NHS

Giggs was appointed manager of the Wales national team on 15 January 2018 on a four-year contract, succeeding Chris Coleman, who had left the role to take up the manager's position at Sunderland the previous November.^[15] His first match in charge was in a 6–0 win over China during the 2018 China Cup, where Gareth Bale broke the all-time scoring record previously held by Ian Rush.^[165] Later that year, Wales participated in the UEFA Nations League, finishing behind Denmark with six points.^[166] In 2019, Wales had a slow start to their qualifying group, only accruing three points from three matches.^[167] However, they went unbeaten for the rest of the year, culminating in a 2–0 win over Hungary and securing qualification for UEFA Euro 2020.^[16] The resulting tournament was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the next time that Giggs would manage the national team was behind closed doors during the UEFA Nations League campaign.^[168] His final match in charge was a 1–0 win over Bulgaria.^[169]

On 3 November 2020, and following Giggs' arrest on assault charges, his assistant manager Rob Page became the caretaker manager.^[17] On 20 June 2022, it was announced that Giggs would step down from his position due to his upcoming trial.^[18]

Player profile

[edit]

Style of play

[edit]

This is embarrassing to say but I have cried twice in my life watching a football player. The first one was Maradona and the second was Ryan Giggs.^[40]

– Alessandro Del Piero

A skilful and dynamic left-footed midfielder, Giggs usually played as a traditional out-and-out left-sided midfielder, who would take on opposing defenders, although he was a versatile player, who was capable of playing on either flank, as well as in several other positions; throughout his career he was also fielded in various offensive roles, as a left or right-sided winger or outside forward in an attacking trident, as an attacking midfielder, as a deep-lying forward, or even as a striker. In the later stages of his career, as his pace and athleticism declined, he was often used as a defensive or central midfielder, or as a deep-lying playmaker; he was even deployed as a full-back on occasion. A quick and technically gifted player, in his prime, his main traits were his speed, acceleration, strength, ball control, flair, dribbling skills, and trickery in possession, as well as his vision; he also was able to refine his crossing and passing ability as his career progressed, which made him an excellent assist provider, and saw him take on more of a playmaking role for his team in later years, which enabled him to dictate play in midfield and create chances for teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. A fast and energetic player, he also drew praise in the media for his tactical intelligence, movement, stamina, work-rate, and consistency; furthermore, he was an accurate free kick taker. In addition to his footballing skills, Giggs also stood out for his leadership and longevity throughout his career.^{[nb 1]}

Discipline

[edit]

Giggs was never sent off in his 24-season playing career for Manchester United and was only once sent off when playing for Wales, on 5 September 2001 in a World Cup qualifier against Norway;^[180] Giggs received a second yellow card in the 86th minute.^[181] In November 2003, he was found guilty of improper conduct by the FA due to his behaviour during the Battle of Old Trafford game against Arsenal (one of two United and six Arsenal players charged over the incident);^[182] Giggs received a £7,500 fine but avoided suspension.^[183] In the same week, Giggs received a two-match suspension from international football for deliberately elbowing Russian player Vadim Yevseyev in the face during the first leg of the Euro 2004 play-offs.^[184] The offence was missed by referee Lucílio Batista, but Giggs was later charged using video evidence.^[184]

Endorsements and public image

[edit]

Giggs featured in advertisements for Reebok, ITV Digital, Kagome tomato juice, Quorn and Celcom. A 1996 Reebok advertisement, which did not feature him, included figures such as Sting, Tom Jones, Richard Attenborough and George Best impersonating him.^[185]

According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being sent on loan to Preston North End."^[186]

Giggs features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series, and was selected to appear on the cover of FIFA Football 2003 alongside Dutch international midfielder Edgar Davids, and Brazilian international fullback Roberto Carlos.^[187] Giggs was included in the FIFA 16 and 17 Ultimate Team Legends.^[188]

Personal life

[edit]

Family

[edit]

Giggs is the son of former rugby union and Wales international rugby league footballer Danny Wilson.^[189] Giggs was christened Ryan Joseph Wilson but as a teenager changed his surname to that of his mother after his parents separated.^[189] Giggs is said to have inherited his balance and athleticism from his father.^[189] He is a distant cousin of the Barbados international footballer Curtis Hutson.^[190]

Giggs married his long-time partner, Stacey Cooke, in a private ceremony on 7 September 2007.^[191] They have two children, both born in Salford, and lived in Worsley, Greater Manchester, close to where the player grew up.^[192] Giggs and Cooke divorced in 2017.^[193] His son Zach Giggs is also a footballer.^[194]

Giggs conducted an eight-year affair with his brother Rhodri's wife, Natasha. The affair resulted in members of Giggs' family repudiating their former ties to Ryan; after Ryan was appointed as manager of the Wales national team, his father Danny said he was "ashamed" of him and that "I can't even bring myself to use his name".^[195]

Activism

[edit]

In August 2006, Giggs became an ambassador for UNICEF UK, in recognition for his work with Manchester United's 'United for UNICEF' partnership with the children's organisation.^[196] Giggs visited UNICEF projects in Thailand and told the BBC: "As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine."^[197]

Post-playing career

[edit]

In October 2010, Giggs said he would "probably finish [his] career here [Old Trafford]," and that he could not see himself "dropping down leagues and playing at a lesser level." He said he wanted to go into coaching, describing the management of Manchester United or Wales as "the two ultimate jobs," and stating that he was halfway through his UEFA 'A' coaching licence.^[198]

Gary Neville, ahead of his 2011 testimonial, said he would put the proceeds towards a supporters club and hotel near Old Trafford.^[199]^[200] Trafford Council approved the hotel in 2012 despite objections from Manchester United.^[201] In 2013, Giggs and Neville launched a hospitality company named GG Hospitality,^[202] with plans to build football-themed hotels and cafés around the United Kingdom, initially in Manchester and London.^[203]^[204]^[205] The first operation was a football-themed restaurant named Café Football in Stratford, London, which opened in November 2013,^[206] with Hotel Football, previously under the guise of the supporters club Neville announced in 2011, scheduled to be opened in late 2014.^[207]

In 2014, it was announced that Giggs, along with former Manchester United players Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville, had agreed a deal to purchase Salford City ahead of the 2014–15 season.^[208]^[209] with plans to get the club to the Football League.^[210] The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing a Class of '92 team.^[211]^[212] On 22 September, the group agreed to sell a 50% stake in the club to billionaire Peter Lim.^[213]^[214]

In September 2017, along with former United teammates including Gary Neville, Giggs proposed a university in Greater Manchester, named University Academy 92 which would offer "broader courses than traditional degrees" and attract students who "otherwise might not go on to higher education".^[215]^{[needs update]}

In November 2017, it was reported that Giggs had signed a consultancy deal with the Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents FC (PVF). The two-year deal would involve making two trips per year to Vietnam.^[216]

Gagging order

[edit]

In May 2011, it was reported in non-UK media sources that Giggs was the identity of CTB in CTB v News Group Newspapers,^[217] a footballer who had obtained an anonymised gagging order in relation to an alleged extra-marital affair with model Imogen Thomas. Giggs took legal action against the social networking site Twitter after he was named by a user in a list of identities of individuals who had allegedly taken out so-called "super-injunctions".^[218] A blogger for Forbes magazine remarked that Giggs had "not heard of the Streisand effect," observing that mentions of his name had increased significantly after the case against Twitter had been reported.^[219]

On 22 May 2011, the Sunday Herald, a Scottish newspaper, published a thinly-disguised photograph of Giggs on its front page, with the word "CENSORED" covering his eyes.^[220]^[221] Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker stated that the London High Court ruling had no force in Scotland, unless copies of the paper were sold in England or Wales.^[222] On 23 May, the gagging order set off a political controversy, with Prime Minister David Cameron commenting that the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today".^[223] On the same day, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming used parliamentary privilege to name Giggs as CTB.^[224]^[225]

Arrest and trial

[edit]

On 3 November 2020, Giggs was arrested on suspicion of two counts of assault against his ex-girlfriend, Kate Greville, and her younger sister, Emma.^[226] He denied the charges against him.^[227]

In April 2021, he was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm to Kate Greville and common assault against Emma Greville, as well as coercive and controlling behaviour against Kate.^[228] On 28 April, he appeared in court, where he denied the charges.^[229]

His trial began on 8 August 2022.^[230] The jury of seven women and four men was discharged on 31 August, having been unable to reach a verdict on any of the charges.^[231] On 18 July 2023, two weeks before he was due to face a retrial, Giggs was cleared as the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew charges. The prosecutor said that Kate Greville was unwilling to give evidence in the retrial.^[232]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]

Club appearances and goals by season by competition^[233]
Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other^[a]		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	1990–91	First Division	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
	1991–92	First Division	38	4	3	0	8	3	1	0	1	0	51	7
	1992–93	Premier League	41	9	2	2	2	0	1	0	–		46	11
	1993–94	Premier League	38	13	7	1	8	3	4	0	1	0	58	17
	1994–95	Premier League	29	1	7	1	0	0	3	2	1	0	40	4
	1995–96	Premier League	33	11	7	1	2	0	2	0	–		44	12
	1996–97	Premier League	26	3	3	0	0	0	7	2	1	0	37	5
	1997–98	Premier League	29	8	2	0	0	0	5	1	1	0	37	9
	1998–99	Premier League	24	3	6	2	1	0	9	5	1	0	41	10
	1999–2000	Premier League	30	6	–		0	0	11	1	3	0	44	7
	2000–01	Premier League	31	5	2	0	0	0	11	2	1	0	45	7
	2001–02	Premier League	25	7	1	0	0	0	13	2	1	0	40	9
	2002–03	Premier League	36	8	3	2	5	0	15	4	–		59	14
	2003–04	Premier League	33	7	5	0	0	0	8	1	1	0	47	8
	2004–05	Premier League	32	5	4	0	1	1	6	2	1	0	44	8
	2005–06	Premier League	27	3	2	1	3	0	5	1	–		37	5
	2006–07	Premier League	30	4	6	0	0	0	8	2	–		44	6
	2007–08	Premier League	31	3	2	0	0	0	9	0	1	1	43	4
	2008–09	Premier League	28	2	2	0	4	1	11	1	2	0	47	4
	2009–10	Premier League	25	5	1	0	2	1	3	1	1	0	32	7
	2010–11	Premier League	25	2	3	1	1	0	8	1	1	0	38	4
	2011–12	Premier League	25	2	2	0	1	1	5	1	0	0	33	4
	2012–13	Premier League	22	2	4	1	1	2	5	0	–		32	5
	2013–14	Premier League	12	0	0	0	2	0	7	0	1	0	22	0
Total			672	114	74	12	41	12	157	29	19	1	963	168

^ Includes FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.

International

[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[145]^[234]
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Wales	1991	2	0
	1992	3	0
	1993	6	2
	1994	1	1
	1995	3	0
	1996	3	1
	1997	3	1
	1998	1	0
	1999	3	1
	2000	4	1
	2001	5	0
	2002	5	0
	2003	7	1
	2004	3	0
	2005	6	3
	2006	5	0
	2007	4	1
Total		64	12
Great Britain Olympic team	2012	4	1
Total		4	1

Scores and results list Wales' and Great Britain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Giggs goal.

List of international goals scored by Ryan Giggs^[234]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
Wales goals
1	31 March 1993	National Stadium, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales	Belgium	1–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	8 September 1993	National Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	RCS	1–1	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	7 September 1994	National Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Albania	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualification
4	2 June 1996	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	4–0	5–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	11 October 1997	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2–3	2–3	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	4 September 1999	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualification
7	29 March 2000	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Finland	1–2	1–2	Friendly
8	29 March 2003	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Azerbaijan	4–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
9	8 October 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	3–2	3–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	12 October 2005	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Azerbaijan	1–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	12 October 2005	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Azerbaijan	2–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	28 March 2007	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	San Marino	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
Great Britain Olympic team goals
1	29 July 2012	Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom	United Arab Emirates	1–0	3–1	2012 Summer Olympics

Managerial record

[edit]

As of match played 30 March 2021

Team	From	To	Record
Team	From	To	G	W	D	L	Win %	Ref.
Manchester United (interim)	22 April 2014^[112]	11 May 2014	4	2	1	1	050.00	^[235]
Wales	15 January 2018^[236]	3 November 2020^[237]	25	12	5	8	048.00	^[235]^{[failed verification]}
Total			29	14	6	9	048.28

Honours

[edit]

Manchester United^[238]

Premier League (13): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13^[239]
FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
Football League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
FA Community Shield (9): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013
UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08
UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

Bravo Award: 1993
PFA Young Player of the Year: 1991–92, 1992–93
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09
PFA Team of the Year: 1992–93 Premier League, 1997–98 Premier League, 2000–01 Premier League, 2001–02 Premier League, 2006–07 Premier League, 2008–09 Premier League
PFA Team of the Century: 1997–2007^[240]
PFA Merit Award: 2016
BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2009
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 1996, 2009
BBC Goal of the Season: 1998–99
Welsh Footballer of the Year: 1996, 2006
GQ Sportsman of the Year: 2010^[241]
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1997–98
Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 1990–91,^[242] 1991–92^[242]
Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2005–06^[243]
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02): Overall Team of the Decade^[244]
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02): Domestic Team of the Decade^[244]
Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2011–12): Best Player^[245]
Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2011–12): Fantasy Teams of the 20 Seasons public and panel choice^[245]
Premier League 20 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2011–12): Most Player Appearances (596)^[245]
Premier League Player of the Month: August 2006, February 2007^[239]
UEFA Champions League 10 Seasons Dream Team (1992 to 2002): 2002
UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2006–07^[246]
English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2005
Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award: 1999^[247]
Golden Foot: 2011
Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award: 2019^[248]
One Club Award: 2020^[249]^[250]
FWA Tribute Award: 2007
IFFHS Legends^[251]

Records

Has won a record 13 top division English league titles as a player, and only Manchester United player to have winner's medals from all 13 Premier League title wins.
Most Premier League appearances for a player, with 632^[252] (since surpassed by Gareth Barry).
Most Premier League assists for a player, with 162.^[252]
Most UEFA Champions League assists for a player, with 41.^[253]
Only player to have played in 22 successive Premier League seasons.
Only player to have scored in 21 successive Premier League seasons.
First player to have scored in 17 different Champions League tournaments (includes 11 consecutive tournaments, 1996–97 to 2006–07; Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema have a better record with 18)
Most goals by a British player in the Champions League/European Cup proper history, and 14th overall (not including preliminary rounds).^[254]
Most appearances by a Manchester United player.
Most starts by a Manchester United player, started in 794 games.
First player to score 100 Premier League goals for Manchester United.
Second midfielder to have scored 100 goals in the Premier League for a single club (first being Matt Le Tissier).
One of four Manchester United players to win two Champions League titles (others are Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Wes Brown). The only player to play in two winning finals.
Oldest (37 years, 289 days) player to score in the Champions League, when he scored against Benfica on 14 September 2011.^[99]
One of two Manchester United players to win at least 10 top division medals (the other one is Paul Scholes.)
Oldest (38 years, 243 days) player to score in the Football competition at the Summer Olympics, when he scored against United Arab Emirates on 29 July 2012.

State and civic honours

OBE for services to football: 2007^[255]
Honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Salford for contributions to football and charity work in developing countries: 2008^[256]
Freedom of the City of Salford: 7 January 2010.^[257] He is the 22nd person to receive the Freedom of the City of Salford.^[257]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

^ See^[115]^[40]^[170]^[171]^[172]^[173]^[174]^[175]^[176]^[177]^[178]^[179]

References

[edit]

^ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). Premier League. 2 February 2012. p. 23. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
^ "11. Ryan Giggs – Quote, Unquote". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Whyatt, Chris (24 May 2011). "Ryan Giggs profile". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
^ Darwin, Stephen (18 December 2007). "Is Ryan Giggs the Greatest Player of His Generation?". Football Fancast. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
^ "Ranked! The 101 greatest football players of the last 25 years: full list". FourFourTwo (253 ed.). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
^ "The 9 Best Wingers Of All Time". Jobs in Football. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ Hayward, Ben (28 November 2023). "Best Wingers in Football History". Four Four Two. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ "Top 100 Wingers / Wide-Fwds of All-Time". Iconic Football. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ "11 of the Greatest Wingers of All Time". Sportskeeda. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ Dawnay, Oliver (8 July 2019). "Dani Alves: Full-back wins astonishing 43rd trophy of his career after Brazil beat Peru in Copa America final". talkSPORT. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Oxley, Sonia (5 March 2013). "United midfielder Giggs makes 1,000th appearance". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ Taylor, Louise (23 March 2017). "Gianluigi Buffon's 1,000th career game is testament to a beacon of stability". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Man Utd confirm Welshman's exit after 29 years". BBC Sport. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Kane, Laura; Marshall, Adam (25 April 2013). "Video: 13 titles for glorious Giggs". ManUtd.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs: Manchester United legend named Wales manager". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
^ ^a ^b Pritchard, Dafydd (19 November 2019). "Wales 2–0 Hungary". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs: Wales manager will not take charge of November games". BBC Sport. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs: Ex-Manchester United winger resigns as Wales manager". BBC Sport. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ "Who Has the Most Champions League Assists?". 14 December 2023.
^ United Kingdom list: "No. 58358". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 15 June 2007. p. 10.
^ "Ryan Giggs Biography". www.footbalium.com.
^ "Giggs suffered racist abuse". Manchester Evening News. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ "Rhodri Giggs resigns from Salford City". salfordstar.com. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
^ "Ryan Giggs: 25 years at Manchester United". Sky Sports.
^ Young Ryan Giggs (Wilson), 1988 Granada Schools Cup. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
^ Barker, Neil (3 October 2012). "Adrian Morley inspired by Reds legends". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^ Adamson, Mike; Ashdown, John (6 October 2004). "Could Ryan Giggs have played for England?". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^ Hughes, Rob (3 March 2009). "Ferguson and Giggs, side by side at ManU". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
^ Fordyce, Tom (12 November 2003). "The teenage tornado". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
^ "Manchester United - Boro: Draw brings back memories of a rain-lashed League Cup tie". gazettelive.co.uk. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ "Steve McManaman Profile". Give Me Football. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ "Might of the midfielders". BBC News. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ "Ryan Giggs is still smiling after surviving the bitter battles with Arsenal". Evening Standard. London. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ "How football became the new rock'n'roll – Rock'n'Goal Week". FourFourTwo. 22 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ Benson, Andrew (1 March 2007). "Ryan Giggs in a league of his own". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
^ Wallace, Sam (28 July 2003). "Milestone looming for Giggs". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Football Hall of Fame – Ryan Giggs". nationalfootballmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
^ Tongue, Steve (13 May 2007). "Giggs: 'This can be the best United ever'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 September 2008.^{[dead link]}
^ "No more second chances". BBC News. 15 April 1999. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c White, Tom (23 January 2013). "Ryan Giggs: The Most Important United Player of All Time?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ "Giggs magic sinks Gunners". BBC Sport. 14 April 1999. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Man Utd crowned world champions". BBC Sport. 30 November 1999. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
^ "Giggs agrees new five-year deal". The Telegraph. 4 April 2001. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Celtic too strong for Man Utd". BBC Sport. 1 August 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Walker, Michael (2 August 2001). "Feisty Celtic give Giggs a night to remember". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Giggs earns Man Utd point". BBC Sport. 23 August 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Giggs: I'm not finished yet". BBC Sport. 21 January 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ McNulty, Phil (19 February 2003). "Giggs must rise again". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ McCarra, Kevin (8 January 2003). "United draw breath of relief". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lewis, Ricardo. "Ryan Giggs: How his United career could have ended 10 years ago". Give Me Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^ "Arsenal cruise past Man Utd". BBC Sport. 16 February 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Wilson, Paul (16 February 2003). "Arsenal triumph as Giggs goes missing". The Observer. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Man Utd shrug off Giggs talk". BBC Sport. 24 February 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^ "Giggs inspires Man Utd". BBC Sport. 25 February 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ McCarra, Kevin (26 February 2003). "Giggs opens up Juve's gifts". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Steinberg, Jacob (1 March 2013). "Ryan Giggs: his 10 greatest goals". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Ryan Giggs's top five Champions League moments". The Telegraph. 20 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Giggs dismisses Inter rumours". BBC Sport. 30 December 2002. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
^ "Giggs 'set for Adriano swap'". BBC Sport. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Wallace, Sam (27 February 2003). "Giggs keen to stay at United after Inter link". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Wright joins Hall of Fame". BBC Sport. 15 October 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Giggs frustrated by injuries". Sky Sports. 7 February 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Corrigan, James (13 February 2005). "How yoga has stretched the career of very private Ryan". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Cheese, Caroline (26 August 2006). "Watford 1–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Taylor, Daniel (11 September 2006). "Giggs and sloppy Spurs get United believing again". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Taylor, Daniel (7 December 2006). "United hold their nerve as Vidic turns the tide". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Bevan, Chris (4 February 2007). "Tottenham 0–4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Winter, Henry (21 February 2007). "Clever Giggs rises above the chaos". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Giggs bemused by free-kick fuss". ESPN. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Jackson, Jamie (25 February 2007). "Ronaldo picks Fulham's pocket". The Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Wilson, Paul (13 May 2007). "Giggs: leader of men". The Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Jackson, Jamie (20 May 2007). "Giggs goes over the line and over the top". The Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Cheese, Caroline (5 August 2007). "Chelsea 1–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Van der Sar shields United goal for Wembley win". The Guardian. 5 August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Smyth, Rob (23 April 2008). "Is it time for Fergie to ditch Giggs and Scholes?". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Giggs is underrated – Ferdinand". BBC Sport. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ "Giggs signs up for 100 club in Lyon". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ Rich, Tim (12 May 2008). "Ryan Giggs reaches Bobby Charlton mark". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ Shuttleworth, Peter (21 May 2008). "Spot-on Giggs overtakes Charlton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Thompson, Gemma (21 May 2008). "Report: MU 1 (6) Chelsea 1 (5)". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ ^a ^b Abbandonato, Paul (7 January 2009). "Ryan Giggs faces up to life after Old Trafford". Western Mail. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ "Giggs to be offered new contract". BBC Sport. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
^ "Giggs signs new Man Utd contract". BBC Sport. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
^ "Man Utd dominate PFA awards list". BBC Sport. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
^ "Giggs earns prestigious PFA award". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
^ "Ferguson backs Giggs to win award". BBC Sport. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
^ McNulty, Phil (29 April 2009). "Man Utd 1–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
^ Bostock, Adam (26 July 2009). "Giggs' glee at first hat-trick". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
^ Cheese, Caroline (12 September 2009). "Tottenham 1–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
^ Sanghera, Mandeep (28 November 2009). "Portsmouth 1–4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
^ "Ryan Giggs wins 2009 BBC Sports Personality award". BBC Sport. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
^ "Ryan Giggs signs new deal at Manchester United". BBC Sport. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
^ "Players of the Decade: #1". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
^ McNulty, Phil (24 April 2010). "Man Utd 3–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
^ "At 36, Giggs Finally Scores His First Penalties". The New York Times. Associated Press. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
^ Chowdhury, Saj (16 August 2010). "Man Utd 3–0 Newcastle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
^ Bartram, Steve (16 January 2011). "Milestone man marches on". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
^ "Ryan Giggs signs new Manchester United contract". BBC Sport. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
^ ^a ^b "United end Schalke's perfect home record in European semifinal". CNN. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
^ "Barcelona 3–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
^ "Ryan Giggs signs Manchester United contract extension". BBC Sport. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
^ Rostance, Tom (26 February 2012). "Norwich 1–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
^ "Sir Alex Ferguson labels Ryan Giggs 'amazing' after record". BBC Sport. 26 February 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ Wainewright, Will (1 March 2011). "Ryan Giggs's 141 team-mates at Manchester United since 1991". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ Winter, Henry (19 October 2012). "Manchester United great Ryan Giggs says managing will be the next best thing when he hangs up his boots". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
^ McNulty, Phil (10 February 2013). "Man Utd 2–0 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Hunter, Andy (10 February 2013). "Manchester United extend lead to 12 points with victory over Everton". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Ryan Giggs agrees new deal". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Manchester United star signs new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs appointed player-coach at Manchester United". The Guardian. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Giggs named player-coach". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jolly, Richard (22 April 2014). "Giggs named temporary United boss". ESPN FC. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
^ Rice, Simon (3 October 2013). "Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs claims Champions League appearance record". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Jolly, Richard (3 October 2013). "Ryan Giggs enjoys 'special' UCL record". ESPN. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b Herbert, Ian (29 November 2013). "Ryan Giggs at 40: How the Manchester United midfielder did it". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ McGowan, Tom (29 November 2013). "Ryan Giggs: Fit, 40 and still firing". CNN. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Hunter, Andy (28 November 2013). "Manchester United's Ryan Giggs still firing and fabulous at 40". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Ogden, Mark (29 November 2013). "Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs celebrates his 40th birthday still dreaming of Champions League glory". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs celebrates his 40th birthday". Sky Sports. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Giggs, Ryan (19 May 2014). "Giggs announces retirement". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Jackson, Jamie (19 May 2014). "Ryan Giggs retires from playing after taking Manchester United No2 job". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
^ "Ryan Giggs: The games, the goals and the gongs". BBC Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Hunter, Andy (19 May 2014). "Ryan Giggs takes his leave as most decorated player in English game". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Reynolds, Charles (19 May 2014). "Ryan Giggs retires: The 10 best moments from the former Manchester United midfielder's career". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Winter, Henry (19 May 2014). "Ryan Giggs produced guile and goals for Manchester United to secure place among the greats". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Campbell, Paul (21 May 2014). "Was Ryan Giggs' playing career the best in the history of English football?". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Adamson, Mike; Ashdown, John (6 October 2004). "Could Ryan Giggs have played for England?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
^ Shuttleworth, Peter (13 October 2009). "Shawcross now eligible for Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
^ "Giggs annoyed by England talk". BBC Sport. 15 October 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ Giggs (2006), p. 24.
^ Giggs (2006), p. 25.
^ Giggs (2006), p. 45.
^ "Did Ryan Giggs Skip Wales Matches? Stats Revealed Football Stories". Football Stories. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
^ Green the younger to eclipse Giggs' mark, The Independent, 3 June 1998. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
^ "Ryan Giggs - Top 5 moment for Wales". faw.cymru. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Walker, Paul (2 March 2000). "Ferguson 'protects' Giggs from Wales". The Independent. London. p. 29.
^ "Wales flop in Cardiff". BBC Sport. 29 March 2000. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
^ Giggs (2006), p. 124.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Manchester United legend set to be named Wales manager". BBC Sport. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
^ Walker, Michael (6 October 2004). "Bullish Giggs primed for historic meeting with familiar faces". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ "Beckham: Giggs needs more". BBC Sport. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ "England 2–0 Wales". BBC News. 9 October 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
^ "Wales 2–0 Azerbaijan". BBC Sport. 12 October 2005. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
^ "Brazil's Dunga dazzled by Giggs". BBC Sport. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Giggs ends international career". BBC Sport. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
^ "17th Football Presentation Awards Evening". Football Association of Wales. 13 November 2007.
^ Bloom, Mark (26 March 2010). "Ryan Giggs considers Wales return". Western Mail. Media Wales. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
^ "Ryan Giggs plays down talk of a Wales return". BBC Sport. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
^ "David Beckham not selected for London 2012 football squad". BBC Sport. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
^ "London 2012 Olympics: Ryan Giggs to captain Team GB football side". The Daily Telegraph. 8 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
^ "Oldest Olympic football goalscorer (male)". Guinness World Records.
^ "Giggs oldest Olympics scorer as Britain beat UAE 3–1 in front of Prince William, Beckham – Ryan Giggs – Legend of Manchester United & Wales". ryangiggs.cc.
^ "Ryan Giggs retires: We salute record-breaking Manchester United legend". Guinness World Records. 23 May 2014.
^ "United under Ryan Giggs". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
^ Edwards, Luke (5 June 2014). "Ryan Giggs admits he burst into tears after his final game as Manchester United's interim manager". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Scott-Elliot, Robin (5 June 2014). "Ryan Giggs admits he broke down in tears at end of short spell as Manchester United manager". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Manchester United: Louis van Gaal confirmed as new manager". BBC Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
^ Jackson, Jamie (6 May 2014). "James Wilson and Ryan Giggs star in Manchester United win over Hull". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Garside, Kevin (7 May 2014). "Ryan Giggs revives tradition of blooding young talent as James Wilson impresses". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ Atkins, Christopher (7 May 2014). "James Wilson, Tom Lawrence and the Manchester United way". ESPN. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Who are Manchester United youngsters James Wilson and Tom Lawrence who made debuts against Hull?". The Telegraph. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Louis van Gaal: Ryan Giggs will succeed me at Man United". BBC Sport. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
^ "Louis van Gaal backs Ryan Giggs to succeed him at Manchester United". Sky Sports. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
^ "Giggs leaves Manchester United". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
^ Pritchard, Dafydd (21 March 2018). "China PR 6–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Pritchard, Dafydd (16 November 2018). "Wales 1–2 Denmark". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Pritchard, Dafydd (11 June 2019). "Hungary 1–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Pritchard, Dafydd (3 September 2020). "Finland 0–1 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Pritchard, Dafydd (14 October 2020). "Bulgaria 0–1 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ Wakeman, Gregory (15 March 2013). "Ryan Giggs' 11 Greatest Moments at Manchester United". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ Gabrielli, Fabrizio (14 March 2014). "Onora il padre". ultimouomo.com (in Italian). Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ Dowding, Chris (14 January 2009). "Ryan Giggs: A True Legend". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ Bagchi, Rob (14 January 2009). "Be grateful for Giggs, a gift that keeps on giving". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ McRae, Donald (13 September 2005). "Giggs: my fear of the blue revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ Warrington, Declan (14 June 2016). "Wayne's (new) world: 4 other big-name players who changed position successfully". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ "Dwight McNeil reveals the player he models himself on". FourFourTwo. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ Okwonga, Musa (18 October 2012). "What next for Ryan Giggs?". ESPN FC. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
^ "Ronaldo savours his 'best' goal". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
^ Mitten, Andy (26 April 2017). "Fergie, Ferdinand, Moscow and more -- Nemanja Vidic talks to ESPN FC". ESPN FC. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Giggs off as Wales are beaten in Oslo". BBC Sport. 5 September 2001. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
^ "Hughes defends Giggs over red card". BBC Sport. 5 September 2001. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
^ "Eight charged after bust-up". BBC Sport. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
^ Rowbottom, Mike (2 December 2003). "Giggs and Ronaldo escape bans for fracas". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Giggs handed two-match ban by UEFA". CNN. 5 December 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
^ Bailey, Ryan (29 November 2013). "Ryan Giggs' 10 Best TV Adverts". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
^ Benson, Andrew (1 March 2007). "Ryan Giggs in a league of his own". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
^ "FIFA 2003 release date announced". ESPN. Retrieved 18 February 2015
^ "FIFA 16 Ultimate Team – New Legends". EA Sports. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hughes, Rob (3 March 2009). "Ferguson and Giggs, side by side at ManU". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
^ "Footballer gets second shot at pro career despite epilepsy blow". WalesOnline. 23 June 2012.
^ "Ryan meets his match". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
^ Benson, Andrew (1 March 2007). "Ryan Giggs in a league of his own". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
^ "Ryan Giggs' estranged wife granted divorce". The Daily Telegraph. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^ Coleman, Tom (17 May 2023). "Ryan Giggs' teenage son signs for Premier League club". Walesonline. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ "'I am ashamed of him. I can't even bring myself to use his name' – Ryan Giggs' dad on Wales appointment". Irish Independent. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
^ "Ryan Giggs, UK UNICEF Ambassador". UNICEF UK. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
^ "Ryan Giggs speaks to Unicef". Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
^ "Ryan Giggs reveals Wales and Man Utd managerial hopes". BBC Sport. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
^ "Gary Neville to spend testimonial cash on supporters' club". BBC Sport. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Stone, Simon (17 May 2011). "Gary Neville admits cynicism surrounds modern day testimonials". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Gary Neville Old Trafford hotel approved". BBC Sport. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Begum, Shelina (8 August 2013). "Tangerine hits back of net with GG Hospitality". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Bignell, Paul (5 July 2013). "Former Manchester United team-mates Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville to open a football-themed hotel and a restaurant". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Jupp, Adam (11 July 2013). "Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville team up to build football-themed hotels and cafés around the UK". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "'Hotel Football' venue in Manchester". Colliers International. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Owens, John (8 August 2013). "Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville hire Tangerine for Café Football launch". PRWeek. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ McKeegan, Alice (3 October 2013). "Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville kick-off their hotel empire in the shadows of Old Trafford". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Keegan, Mike (27 March 2014). "Class of '92 stars agree deal to buy Salford City FC". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
^ "Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt agree deal for Salford City FC". Sky Sports. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Robson, James (7 August 2014). "Class of 92 have big plans for Salford City". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Keegan, Mike (9 May 2014). "Class of 92 to play in Salford City friendly". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ "Ryan Giggs and Manchester United 'Class of 92' team-mates to face Salford FC". The Independent. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
^ Jackson, Jamie (22 September 2014). "Peter Lim to buy 50% stake in Salford City from Class of '92". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
^ "Singapore businessman Peter Lim joins forces with ex-Manchester United players and invests in Salford City FC". The Daily Telegraph. 22 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
^ Cooper, Imogen (20 September 2017). "Manchester United's 'class of 92' unveil plans to open university". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Man Utd legend to sign deal with Vietnamese academy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
^ "CTB v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor (2011) EWHC 1232 (QB), 14 and 20 April 2011". High Court of Justice. British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII). 16 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
^ Cheng, Jackie (20 May 2011). "Twitter asked to stop users from gossiping then gets sued". Ars technica. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
^ Hill, Kashmir (20 May 2011). "He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named (In The UK) Sues Twitter Over A User Naming Him". Forbes. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
^ Taylor, Matthew; Gabbatt, Adam; Chrispin, Sebastian (22 May 2011). "Scottish newspaper identifies injunction row footballer". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^ Front page Sunday Herald, 22 May 2011.
^ "Sunday Herald names footballer accused on Twitter". BBC News. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
^ "Privacy injunctions unsustainable, says Cameron". BBC News. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
^ Watt, Nicholas (23 May 2011). "John Hemming: the MP who outed Ryan Giggs in superinjunctions row". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^ "Injunctions doubt as footballer Ryan Giggs named by MP". BBC News. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
^ Shadwell, Talia (6 November 2020). "Giggs 'arrested on suspicion of assaulting girlfriend and another on same night'". mirror. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
^ "Ryan Giggs denies assault allegations after arrest". BBC News. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ "Ryan Giggs charged with assaulting two women". BBC News. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Ryan Giggs denies assaulting two women". BBC News. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Ex-Man Utd and Wales star headbutted ex-girlfriend - court". BBC News. 8 August 2022.
^ "Ryan Giggs trial: Jury discharged after failing to reach verdicts". BBC News. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
^ Evitts, Jared (18 July 2023). "Ryan Giggs: Ex-Man Utd star cleared over former girlfriend charges". BBC News. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
^ Endlar, Andrew. "Ryan Giggs". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs". Soccerbase. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Manchester United legend named Wales manager". BBC Sport. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Wales manager will not take charge of November games". BBC Sport. 3 November 2020.
^ "Ryan Giggs: The games, the goals and the gongs". BBC Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Ryan Giggs: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
^ "Team of the Century: 1997–2007 – the Premiership's finest of the last decade". GiveMeFootball.com. Give Me Football. 5 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
^ "GQ Sportsman of the Year". GQ magazine. 29 October 2010.
^ ^a ^b Bostock, Adam (4 May 2010). "Award joy for Keane". ManUtd.com. Manchester United Football Club. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
^ Carney, Sam (18 September 2020). "Every winner of Man Utd's Players' Player of the Year award". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b Davies, Christopher (15 April 2003). "The Premiership elite selection 1993–2003". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Man Utd dominate 20 Seasons Fantasy Teams". Premier League. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
^ "UEFA Champions League 2006/07 - History - Statistics – UEFA.com". UEFA. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^ "Toyota Cup – Most Valuable Player of the Match Award". Retrieved 16 September 2015.
^ "Ryan Giggs – PLAYER CAREER AWARD". globesoccer.com. Globe Soccer Awards. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
^ "Ryan Giggs: the Welsh prince of Old Trafford". Athletic Bilbao. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^ "Ryan Giggs: Wales boss earns Athletic Bilbao accolade for Manchester United career". BBC Sport. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^ "IFFHS announce the 48 football legend players". IFFHS. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
^ ^a ^b "All-time Premier League Player Stats". Premier League. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
^ "All-time Player | Most assists Stats | UEFA Champions League". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
^ "Top Scorers – UEFA Champions League 1991–2011". Futbal.org. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
^ "OBE honour for United hero Giggs". BBC News. 11 December 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
^ Giggs is Awarded Honorary Degree BBC, (15 July 2008). Retrieved on 15 July 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Giggs awarded freedom of Salford". BBC News. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.

General sources

Giggs, Ryan (2006). Giggs: The Autobiography. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-102401-1.

External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryan Giggs.

Ryan Giggs – FIFA competition record (archived)
Ryan Giggs at Soccerbase
Profile at ManUtd.com
Ryan Giggs at IMDb
Ryan Giggs collected news and commentary at The Guardian

v t e Great Britain men's football squad – 2012 Summer Olympics
1 Butland 2 Taylor 3 Bertrand 4 Rose 5 Caulker 6 Dawson 7 Cleverley 8 Allen 9 Sturridge 10 Bellamy 11 Giggs (c) 12 Tomkins 13 Cork 14 Richards 15 Ramsey 16 Sinclair 17 Sordell 18 Steele Coach: Pearce

Awards

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year

1988: McClair
1989: Robson
1990: Pallister
1991: Hughes
1992: McClair
1993: Ince
1994: Cantona
1995: Kanchelskis
1996: Cantona
1997: Beckham
1998: Giggs
1999: Keane
2000: Keane
2001: Sheringham
2002: Van Nistelrooy
2003: Van Nistelrooy
2004: Ronaldo
2005: Heinze
2006: Rooney
2007: Ronaldo
2008: Ronaldo
2009: Vidić
2010: Rooney
2011: Hernández
2012: Valencia
2013: Van Persie
2014: De Gea
2015: De Gea
2016: De Gea
2017: Herrera
2018: De Gea
2019: Shaw
2020: Fernandes
2021: Fernandes
2022: Ronaldo
2023: Rashford
2024: Fernandes

PFA Players' Player of the Year

1974: Hunter
1975: Todd
1976: Jennings
1977: Gray
1978: Shilton
1979: Brady
1980: McDermott
1981: Wark
1982: Keegan
1983: Dalglish
1984: Rush
1985: Reid
1986: Lineker
1987: Allen
1988: Barnes
1989: Hughes
1990: Platt
1991: Hughes
1992: Pallister
1993: McGrath
1994: Cantona
1995: Shearer
1996: Ferdinand
1997: Shearer
1998: Bergkamp
1999: Ginola
2000: Keane
2001: Sheringham
2002: Van Nistelrooy
2003: Henry
2004: Henry
2005: Terry
2006: Gerrard
2007: Ronaldo
2008: Ronaldo
2009: Giggs
2010: Rooney
2011: Bale
2012: Van Persie
2013: Bale
2014: Suárez
2015: Hazard
2016: Mahrez
2017: Kanté
2018: Salah
2019: Van Dijk
2020: De Bruyne
2021: De Bruyne
2022: Salah
2023: Haaland
2024: Foden

PFA Young Player of the Year

1974: Beattie
1975: Day
1976: Barnes
1977: Gray
1978: Woodcock
1979: Regis
1980: Hoddle
1981: Shaw
1982: Moran
1983: Rush
1984: Walsh
1985: Hughes
1986: Cottee
1987: Adams
1988: Gascoigne
1989: Merson
1990: Le Tissier
1991: Sharpe
1992: Giggs
1993: Giggs
1994: Cole
1995: Fowler
1996: Fowler
1997: Beckham
1998: Owen
1999: Anelka
2000: Kewell
2001: Gerrard
2002: Bellamy
2003: Jenas
2004: Parker
2005: Rooney
2006: Rooney
2007: Ronaldo
2008: Fàbregas
2009: Young
2010: Milner
2011: Wilshere
2012: Walker
2013: Bale
2014: Hazard
2015: Kane
2016: Alli
2017: Alli
2018: Sané
2019: Sterling
2020: Alexander-Arnold
2021: Foden
2022: Foden
2023: Saka
2024: Palmer

v t e Welsh Footballer of the Year
1993: Hughes 1994: Hughes 1996: Giggs 1998: Hartson 1999: Jones 2000: Robinson 2001: Hartson 2002: Davies 2003: Hartson 2004: Earnshaw 2005: Gabbidon 2006: Giggs 2007: Bellamy 2008: Davies 2009: Williams 2010: Bale 2011: Bale 2012: Allen 2013: Bale 2014: Bale 2015: Bale 2016: Bale 2017: Gunter 2018: Brooks

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

1954: Christopher Chataway
1955: Gordon Pirie
1956: Jim Laker
1957: Dai Rees
1958: Ian Black
1959: John Surtees
1960: David Broome
1961: Stirling Moss
1962: Anita Lonsbrough
1963: Dorothy Hyman
1964: Mary Rand
1965: Tom Simpson
1966: Bobby Moore
1967: Henry Cooper
1968: David Hemery
1969: Ann Jones
1970: Henry Cooper
1971: HRH The Princess Anne
1972: Mary Peters
1973: Jackie Stewart
1974: Brendan Foster
1975: David Steele
1976: John Curry
1977: Virginia Wade
1978: Steve Ovett
1979: Sebastian Coe
1980: Robin Cousins
1981: Ian Botham
1982: Daley Thompson
1983: Steve Cram
1984: Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean)
1985: Barry McGuigan
1986: Nigel Mansell
1987: Fatima Whitbread
1988: Steve Davis
1989: Nick Faldo
1990: Paul Gascoigne
1991: Liz McColgan
1992: Nigel Mansell
1993: Linford Christie
1994: Damon Hill
1995: Jonathan Edwards
1996: Damon Hill
1997: Greg Rusedski
1998: Michael Owen
1999: Lennox Lewis
2000: Steve Redgrave
2001: David Beckham
2002: Paula Radcliffe
2003: Jonny Wilkinson
2004: Kelly Holmes
2005: Andrew Flintoff
2006: Zara Phillips
2007: Joe Calzaghe
2008: Chris Hoy
2009: Ryan Giggs
2010: Tony McCoy
2011: Mark Cavendish
2012: Bradley Wiggins
2013: Andy Murray
2014: Lewis Hamilton
2015: Andy Murray
2016: Andy Murray
2017: Mo Farah
2018: Geraint Thomas
2019: Ben Stokes
2020: Lewis Hamilton
2021: Emma Raducanu
2022: Beth Mead
2023: Mary Earps
2024: Keely Hodgkinson

BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year

1954 Ken Jones
1955 John Disley
1956 Joe Erskine
1957 Dai Rees
1958 Howard Winstone
1959 Graham Moore
1960 Brian Curvis
1961 Bryn Meredith
1962 Ivor Allchurch
1963 Howard Winstone
1964 Lynn Davies
1965 Clive Rowlands
1966 Lynn Davies
1967 Howard Winstone
1968 Martyn Woodroffe
1969 Tony Lewis
1970 David Broome
1971 John Dawes, the Wales national rugby union team & the Welsh Lions
1972 Richard Meade
1973 Berwyn Price
1974 Gareth Edwards
1975 Arfon Griffiths
1976 Mervyn Davies & the Wales national rugby union team
1977 Phil Bennett
1978 Johnny Owen
1979 Terry Griffiths
1980 Duncan Evans
1981 John Toshack
1982 Steve Barry
1983 Colin Jones
1984 Ian Rush
1985 Steve Jones
1986 Kirsty Wade
1987 Ian Woosnam
1988 Colin Jackson
1989 Stephen Dodd
1990 Ian Woosnam
1991 Ian Woosnam
1992 Tanni Grey
1993 Colin Jackson
1994 Steve Robinson
1995 Neville Southall
1996 Ryan Giggs
1997 Scott Gibbs
1998 Iwan Thomas
1999 Colin Jackson
2000 Tanni Grey-Thompson
2001 Joe Calzaghe
2002 Mark Hughes
2003 Nicole Cooke
2004 Tanni Grey-Thompson
2005 Gareth Thomas
2006 Joe Calzaghe
2007 Joe Calzaghe
2008 Shane Williams
2009 Ryan Giggs
2010 Gareth Bale
2011 Chaz Davies
2012 Jade Jones
2013 Leigh Halfpenny
2014 Geraint Thomas
2015 Dan Biggar
2016 Jade Jones
2017 Jonathan Davies
2018 Geraint Thomas
2019 Alun Wyn Jones
2020 No award
2021 Lauren Price
2022 Olivia Breen
2023 Emma Finucane
2024 Emma Finucane

Bravo Award

1978: Case
1979: Birtles
1980: H. Müller
1981: Wark
1982: Shaw
1983: Bonini
1984: Righetti
1985: Butragueño
1986: Butragueño
1987: van Basten
1988: Ohana
1989: Maldini
1990: Baggio
1991: Prosinečki
1992: Guardiola
1993: Giggs
1994: Panucci
1995: Kluivert
1996: Del Piero
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Ronaldo
1999: Buffon
2000: Casillas
2001: Hargreaves
2002: Metzelder
2003: Rooney
2004: C. Ronaldo
2005: Robben
2006: Fàbregas
2007: Messi
2008: Benzema
2009: Busquets
2010: T. Müller
2011: Hazard
2012: Verratti
2013: Isco
2014: Pogba
2015: Berardi

v t e Golden Foot
2003: Baggio 2004: Nedvěd 2005: Shevchenko 2006: Ronaldo 2007: Del Piero 2008: Roberto Carlos 2009: Ronaldinho 2010: Totti 2011: Giggs 2012: Ibrahimović 2013: Drogba 2014: Iniesta 2015: Eto'o 2016: Buffon 2017: Casillas 2018: Cavani 2019: Modrić 2020: C. Ronaldo 2021: Salah 2022: Lewandowski 2023: not awarded 2024: Martínez

Intercontinental Cup Man of the Match

1980: Victorino
1981: Zico
1982: Jair
1983: Renato
1984: Percudani
1985: Platini
1986: Alzamendi
1987: Madjer
1988: Ostolaza
1989: Evani
1990: Rijkaard
1991: Jugović
1992: Raí
1993: Cerezo
1994: Asad
1995: Blind
1996: Del Piero
1997: Möller
1998: Raúl
1999: Giggs
2000: Palermo
2001: Kuffour
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Donnet
2004: Maniche

Match of the Day's Goal of the Season Award

1970–71: Hunt
1971–72: Radford
1972–73: Osgood
1973–74: Mullery
1974–75: Walsh
1975–76: Francis
1976–77: McDermott
1977–78: Gemmill
1978–79: Kennedy
1979–80: Fashanu
1980–81: Morley
1981–82: Regis
1982–83: Dalglish
1983–84: D. Wallace
1984–85: Sharp
1985–86: Robson
1986–87: Houchen
1987–88: Aldridge
1988–89: Aldridge
1989–90: Wright
1990–91: Gascoigne
1991–92: Thomas
1992–93: Atkinson
1993–94: R. Wallace
1994–95: Le Tissier
1995–96: Yeboah
1996–97: Sinclair
1997–98: Bergkamp
1998–99: Giggs
1999–2000: Di Canio
2000–01: Bartlett
2001–02: Bergkamp
2002–03: Henry
2003–04: Hamann
2004–05: Rooney
2005–06: Gerrard
2006–07: Rooney
2007–08: Adebayor
2008–09: Johnson
2009–10: Figueroa
2010–11: Rooney
2011–12: Cissé
2012–13: Van Persie
2013–14: Wilshere
2014–15: Wilshere
2015–16: Alli
2016–17: Can
2017–18: Vardy
2018–19: Kompany
2019–20: Son
2020–21: Lamela
2021–22: Salah
2022–23: Enciso
2023–24: Garnacho

Due to a transfer of broadcast rights, the entries for the 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons were decided on ITV's The Premiership.

One Club Award

2015–2018

2015: Le Tissier
2016: Maldini
2017: Maier
2018: Puyol

2019–

Men	2019: McNeill 2020: Giggs 2021: Award not given 2022: Bochini 2023: Pinto
Women	2019: Moström 2020: Wunderlich 2021: Award not given 2022: Zietz 2023: Martínez

FWA Tribute Award

1983: Greenwood
1984: Paisley
1985: Brooking
1986: Jennings
1987: Dalglish
1988: Finney
1989: Charlton
1990: Moore
1991: Shilton
1992: Bo. Robson
1993: Clough
1994: Law
1995: Matthews
1996: Ferguson
1997: Lineker
1998: Hurst
1999: Smith
2000: Best
2001: Shearer
2002: Taylor
2003: Adams
2004: Hill
2005: Wenger
2006: Br. Robson
2007: Giggs
2008: Beckham
2009: Redknapp
2010: Lampard
2011: Henry
2012: Neville & Scholes
2013: Gerrard
2014: Mourinho
2015: Drogba
2016: Vieira
2017: Rooney
2018: Pelé
2019: Southgate
2020: Kompany
2021: Rashford
2023: Touré
2024: Hayes

Football League 100 Legends

English Football Hall of Fame

Players

Men

Women

Managers

Referees

Taylor
Welch

Managerial positions

Manchester United F.C. – managers

Albut^s (1892–1900)
West^s (1900–03)
Mangnall^s (1903–12)
Bentley^s (1912–14)
Robson (1914–21)
Chapman (1921–26)
Hilditch^p (1926–27)
Bamlett (1927–31)
Crickmer (1931–32)
Duncan (1932–37)
Crickmer (1937–45)
Busby (1945–58)
Murphy^c (1958)
Busby (1958–69)
McGuinness (1969–70)
Busby (1970–71)
O'Farrell (1971–72)
Docherty (1972–77)
Sexton (1977–81)
Atkinson (1981–86)
Ferguson (1986–2013)
Moyes (2013–14)
Giggs^{p c} (2014)
Van Gaal (2014–16)
Mourinho (2016–18)
Solskjær (2018–21)
Carrick^c (2021)
Rangnickⁱ (2021–22)
Ten Hag (2022–24)
Van Nistelrooyⁱ (2024)
Amorim (2024–)

(s) = secretary; (p) = player-manager; (c) = caretaker; (i) = interim.

Wales national football team – managers

Barnes (1954–56)
Murphy (1956–64)
Morris^c (1964)
Bowen (1964–74)
Smith (1974–79)
England (1979–87)
Williams^c (1988)
Yorath (1988–93)
Toshack (1994)
Smith (1994–95)
Gould (1995–99)
Hughes & Southall^c (1999)
Hughes (1999–2004)
Toshack (2004–10)
Flynn^c (2010)
Speed (2010–11)
Coleman (2012–17)
Giggs (2018–20)
Page (2020–24)
Bellamy (2024–)

(c) = caretaker manager