Ryan Joseph Giggs born 29 November 1973 is a Welsh footballer who plays for Manchester United.
Giggs is the most decorated player in English football history, having established himself as a left winger during the 1990s, and continuing in this position well into the 2000s, though he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his latter years.
Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season. He holds the club record for competitive appearances, and the club record for team trophies won by a player (23).
Since 1992, he has collected 11 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He has runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of five United teams to have finished second in the league. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries.
On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League.
Giggs has had a long-lasting domestic and continental career and is the first player in UEFA Champions League history to have scored in 11 successive seasons, on top of being elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century.
He is also the only United player to have played in all 11 Premier League winning teams and the first three League Cup-winning teams. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club's all-time leader in appearances. At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country.
In addition to the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends (the last active player in the list), he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. On 31 January 2011, Giggs was named Manchester United's greatest ever player by a world wide poll conducted by United's official magazine and website. Sir Alex Ferguson presented him with the award
Personal information
Full name: Ryan Joseph Giggs
Date of birth: 29 November 1973 (1973-11-29) (age 37)
Place of birth: Wales
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position: Midfielder
Club information
Current club: Manchester United
Number: 11
Youth career
1985–1987 Manchester City
1987–1990 Manchester United
Senior career*
1990– Manchester United 607 (110)
National team
1990 Wales U21 1 (0)
1991–2007 Wales 64 (12)
