It has been more than four years out of the country’s football consciousness for Ryan Giggs, but on Saturday night, he will appear on free-to-air national television on BBC One as he steps into the dugout at the Etihad Stadium.
Salford City face Manchester City in the FA Cup and Giggs is preparing to support manager Karl Robinson pitchside, as he has been doing for the past three months.
He is one of Salford’s co-owners, alongside some of his Class of ’92 team-mates from Manchester United, and director of football at the League Two club. But since October, Giggs has also been on the bench for matches. One of Robinson’s assistants, Simon Wiles, left Salford to take charge of United’s under-15s. Then, Alex Bruce, Robinson’s other assistant, suffered the devastating family tragedy of the death of his four-month-old nephew, leading him to step aside for the game at Crewe on October 19.
“Karl was literally going to be left on his own,” Giggs tells The Athletic. “So I said, ‘Right, I’ll come on the bench with you’.
“It was just me and Karl, the physio, goalkeeping coach, and sport scientist. I enjoyed it. Karl enjoyed it. And we were saving a little bit of money, not getting another coach in.”
Salford drew 1-1 at Crewe and in the 16 games since, with Bruce returning alongside Robinson and Giggs, they have lost just twice. Six wins in a row have put Salford third in the fourth tier, the highest position in the club’s history, and they have also made it to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time.
The tie against City projects Salford to a much wider audience, with 5,500 away fans also travelling the short distance west to east across Manchester in the club’s largest away following, even if some will be traditionally United supporters.
Giggs (standing) in the Salford dugout in November (James Baylis/AMA/Getty Images)
There were no fans in the stadium the last time Giggs was seen on national television in a football context. Lockdown rules during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic meant Wales, then managed by Giggs, lost 3-0 to England at an empty Wembley on ITV in October 2020. A month later, Giggs was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend, Kate Greville. Giggs denied any wrongdoing but stepped back from his job. Rob Page took Wales to the postponed Euro 2020 finals the next summer after Giggs had steered the side through qualification.
The jury in Giggs’ first trial in August 2022 at Manchester Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on claims — all denied by Giggs — that he had headbutted Greville, exerted controlling behaviour and assaulted her sister, Emma. But the trial into the prosecution’s case that he had committed a “litany of abuse, both physical and psychological, of a woman that he professed to love” laid bare Giggs’ private life in a very public way, with even the former footballer’s defence team admitting he was a “rabbit in headlights” in the witness box.
GO DEEPER
Who is the real Ryan Giggs?
In July 2023, Giggs was formally found not guilty after prosecutors told the court they would not be pursuing the case because Greville did not want to give evidence again. She said it was because she felt “worn down” and “violated” by the process. Giggs’ legal team said he was “deeply relieved” by the decision and that “many lies” had been told about him.
We have heard little since from Giggs publicly; a man Robinson calls “one of the greatest footballers ever”, who won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups, and four League Cups, as well as the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Players’ Player of the Year and the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards.
Sitting in an office this week at United’s Littleton Road training ground, where Salford have been based this season due to a deal struck by Giggs, the 51-year-old acknowledges the matter for the first time but is reluctant to go into detail.
“It was a difficult time for everyone,” he says. “But my focus now is moving forward and, at the moment, enjoying being in the dugout and trying to get Salford up to League One.”
Does he reflect on what had happened as he looks to build back his career in football?
Giggs leaves court in August 2022 (Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
“Like I said, I think it was a difficult time for everyone involved. But, as we sit here now, my focus is on the here and now, Salford, looking towards the future and not looking back.”
After learning there would be no retrial, Giggs immediately stated his desire to return to management. The charity Women’s Aid said in a statement this week the prospect was “disheartening” given the nature of the allegations he faced, and “the message this sends — to impressionable fans and to the general public — is deeply troubling.” The charity added: “Football clubs, and the sports industry, have a responsibility to uphold respect, equality, and safety for women and children.”
Does Giggs have any thoughts on those who would be against him having a more prominent role?
“I’m just concentrating on what I’m doing at this present moment in time,” he says. “You never know what’s going to happen in the future. I can only control what I can control.
“It came by chance, coming in the dugout (with Salford)… In a League Two team, saving every little bit of salary helps: we can get maybe a better gym kit, maybe we can get a player on loan. Whether I’m going to stay in the dugout, that’s up to Karl, but at the moment I’m enjoying it.”
The court case still influences the perception of Giggs, though.
The Premier League started a Hall of Fame in 2021, with inductees selected by a combination of panel and public vote, but Giggs has never been nominated despite winning a record number of titles and featuring in six PFA teams of the year. The last three players to be added were Ashley Cole, Andy Cole and John Terry.
“When you start playing football, something like the Hall of Fame isn’t something you think about,” says Giggs. “You think about playing as many games as you can. I was lucky enough to play for the team that I supported, winning trophies, Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues, FA Cups, League Cups.
“The Hall of Fame wasn’t going even when I was playing, it wasn’t until when I finished. I don’t know what the criteria are to get in, but as far as I’m concerned, if it comes, great. If it doesn’t, then, you know, I’m quite happy with how my career has gone.”
Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, his Class of ’92 team-mates and fellow Salford co-owners, won 11 and eight Premier League titles respectively and are regulars on YouTube, Sky Sports, and TNT Sports. By contrast, Giggs, the club’s record-appearance holder on 963 games, is not really part of the United ecosystem, even if his famous FA Cup semi-final goal against Arsenal will inevitably be aired this weekend with United travelling to the Emirates.
Giggs’ goal at Villa Park in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal is one of the competition’s finest (Shaun Botterill/Allsport)
“Who knows?” he says, when asked whether he can envision a time when his history with United is brought back into the mainstream. “I mean, it’s hard to get too far ahead of yourself with football. I certainly never did that while I was playing, while I was coaching, while I was managing. You just never know what’s around the corner.
“All my efforts at the moment are with Salford City. Of course, I support United, but this is a full-time job. It’s a weird dynamic, director of football and a co-owner as well, but at the moment I’m enjoying football more than ever.”
Robinson, who has been in charge since January 2024, is quick to acknowledge the idiosyncratic setup with Giggs. “He doesn’t assist me, he’s the boss still,” a laughing Robinson tells The Athletic.
“My best mate said to me the other day, ‘How does it work when you’re the manager and you’ve got your boss sat next to you?’. I said, ‘I don’t know actually’.
“At the end of a game, I’d like to think I know the reasons why we’ve lost and here I’m not having to explain them to people. The owners know everything about the game. I don’t think anybody is pulling the wool over anybody’s eyes. It’s the easiest it’s ever been for me.”
Giggs met Robinson when he was in charge at MK Dons and had overseen the 4-0 League Cup victory over Louis van Gaal’s United team in August 2014. Giggs, United’s No 2 at the time, had to go into the MK dressing room to tell Robinson that, unfortunately, Van Gaal did not feel up to sharing a post-match chat.
Now, Giggs and Robinson talk all the time, with Bruce, son of former United captain Steve, an important part of the coaching trio. “Because we’re so different, if somebody’s so confident in something, whether that be Ryan, Alex or me, I think the other two say, ‘We’ll go with that’. That level of respect we all have for each other is important.”
Giggs and Robinson before Salford’s first-round FA Cup match against Shrewsbury Town (James Baylis/AMA/Getty Images)
Giggs adds: “Karl is brilliant on the grass, so he’s getting a chance to coach more… I don’t do anything on the grass because I’m the director of football. But then, matchday, I’m in the dugout. I didn’t realise how much I missed being in the dugout.”
Giggs stands with Robinson in the pre-training meeting addressing the squad, but lets his manager do the talking. It is the same arrangement during games. “Karl looks after the team talks, looks after anything at half-time, then me and Alex will go around to individuals who need it,” says Giggs.
Robinson says “transparency” makes the unusual coaching arrangement work. “When I first met Ryan and everybody, it was the most honest, brutal reflection of where the football club’s at and where it wants to go,” he adds. “There is consistent communication. We don’t get lost in the rubbish of the industry, really. It’s quite refreshing.
“Even when I first went to the first training ground and I walked in the door and I saw Ryan stood there, he said, ‘What were you expecting?’. That sort of honesty at the beginning has allowed, I think, relationships to build.”
That first training ground was in Partington, Greater Manchester, where the facilities were below Football League standard. “It was at a school,” says Giggs. “It wasn’t great and it gave the players and the staff an excuse to have a little moan now and again — water not being on, pitch is not good enough, PE lessons coming on halfway through training.”
When Giggs took on his role as director of football last February, improving the training conditions was an immediate focus. He started talks with United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche over hiring Littleton Road and The Cliff, facilities where Giggs used to train as a player under Sir Alex Ferguson, and sealed an agreement with head of academy football operations Steve Higham and academy operations manager Andy Jordan. Salford rent at cost price, paying for heating and staffing. United have also played an under-21s game at Salford’s Peninsula Stadium, with more planned.
Giggs explains how he sees his job at Salford: “Making sure that Karl’s got everything that he wants and the players have got everything they want, within reason.
“I have this vision, which we do now every Thursday, the staff from the stadium come down and they work from here, Littleton Road, so the lads can see who pays them their wages. Jonathan (Jackson), the CEO, comes down. I think the fans have recognised as well, we’re back in Salford.
“And obviously with the owners, you know, this is where we used to train (with United). We trained here during the treble. We moved to Carrington in 2000.”
The icy temperatures now mean hard pitches, which makes training impossible. So instead, the staff and players drive five minutes down the road to The Cliff, where there is an indoor pitch on artificial turf.
Giggs says hello to United staff as he enters, then watches training from the balcony, with some members of the women’s team watching on, too. He smiles at the thought of Salford preparing to take on City using United’s historic base.
There are bigger issues for Salford to solve, such as investment in the club, after Peter Lim, who had owned 50 per cent at the takeover in 2014, stepped away. Lim largely bankrolled Salford, but Gary Neville acquired his shares five months ago, with his brother Phil, Giggs, Scholes, David Beckham and Nicky Butt remaining as shareholders.
The Class of ’92 and Salford co-owners (David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Scholes, Butt and Giggs) in 2017 (John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Giggs says: “We’ve always said from the beginning it was a 10-year plan. We’d hoped that we’d maybe be in League One by this time. But I think, underneath that, we’ve done so much good work. We’ve created an academy, Category 3. We’ve started a foundation.
“Eventually we want a sort of Bilbao model, five or six young players from Salford, from the Greater Manchester area, representing Salford. That will take time. But we definitely can’t keep funding it ourselves. We need partners — partners who think like us.”
Giggs attended the funeral of Kath Phipps, United’s longest-serving employee, on Monday alongside his Class of ’92 team-mates. “Gary, because of Kath’s funeral, met with Becks and chatted about the situation, the different choices we’ve got to make in the next few months. We’re in no way going anywhere, we’re in for the long haul.
“We’ve had plenty of interest. It’ll be all six of us deciding which direction we want to go.”
Making smart recruitment choices — “real value for money,” as Giggs puts it — is also pivotal to that. He gets involved, meeting agents and players, with Robinson, Bruce, head of recruitment Ross Duncan, as well as Scholes and Butt also playing roles. In October, Butt resigned as chief executive after two years to pursue coaching opportunities but is still present.
This is all a far cry from where Giggs has spent most of his football career. Having made his money, why does he continue to do it?
“I love it,” he says. “I love the club. I love going to the games. Even before I was in the dugout, I was going to every home and away game, driving down to Crawley, sitting in the away end.”
At the Etihad, he will be opposite Pep Guardiola, an “unbelievable manager” who led Barcelona when they defeated United in two Champions League finals in which Giggs started.
Guardiola and Giggs clash as players (Ross Kinnaird/PA Images via Getty Images)
Giggs has played golf with Guardiola and the two were team-mates at a Ryder Cup-style tournament at the Belfry in 2017.
“He was lining putts up for me, ‘What do you see there behind me?.’” says Giggs. “It was like (Jose Maria) Olazabal and Seve (Ballesteros). We actually won. It was Europe v England. I was on the European team with Wales. He’s just as intense on the golf course as he is in the dugout.”
When the game kicks off at the Etihad, Giggs will inevitably be the focus of attention for some City fans. “I’m used to that,” he replies. “I’ll put my tin hat on. Hopefully, we’ll be celebrating a goal at least.”
(Top photo: Salford City)
