Ryan Giggs is in the news recently, amid rumours that Manchester United is considering retiring the number 11 shirt in honour of Giggs, whose twenty-three year football career ended in retirement last year. Giggs has stated that he is interested to see who will take over the number, and says he can imagine inheriting the number 11 shirt could come with a great deal of pressure. But he does not think the team should retire it, given their high turnover of fantastic players. The retirement rumours are thought to have started in a push from excited fans. Now that he is retired, Giggs has joined the Manchester United coaching staff under Louis Van Gaal.

Ryan Giggs was born in Canton, Cardiff in 1973. His father, Danny Wilson, played union rugby for Cardiff RFC, and Giggs was a player of both rugby and football from a young age. Giggs was offered associate schoolboy forms on his fourteenth birthday and his first professional contract on his seventeenth birthday. He made his league debut for Manchester on March 2, 1991, and was voted the PFA Young Player of the year in 1992 and 1993. By 2002, Giggs was the longest serving player on United, and in 2004 he became one of only two players to have one the FA cup more than three times. Giggs’ unquestionable skills and long duration in the game have made him the holder of numerous league records, including league titles, and was awarded PFA player of the year in 2009.

Giggs retired in 2014 at age 40, in an open letter to friends and supporters that announced both his retirement and his position as assistant manager of Manchester United. In the letter, he referred to his pride at representing United in 963 games, and Wales in 64, fulfilling a life-long dream and playing among the greatest players in the football world. He is pleased to be going on to work alongside van Gaal, and his efforts on the field, spanning two decades, are sure to be remembered for a long time to come. Long-time fan and business owner Tunde Folawiyo is among the many that cite Giggs as the greatest Manchester United player of all time, for his longevity in such a competitive climate. Giggs was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005.