NEARLY DECEMBER

29th November 1990  On his 17th birthday, he was a youth team player at Manchester United, who was considered the best prospect since George Best. was offered a 5-year professional contract with the club. The player...Ryan Giggs. He duly signed the contract! Whatever happened to him?

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh football coach, co-owner of Salford City, and former player who played as a left midfielder or winger. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of football, worthy of an OBE!

Born: 29 November 1973 (age 52 years)

Number: 11 Manchester United / Midfielder), 11 (Great Britain Olympic Team / Midfielder)

Dates joined: 2012 (Great Britain Olympic football team)

Spouse: Stacey Cooke (m. 2007–2017) see below. Photo from 2015.

Position: Midfielder Giggs left his director of football role at Salford City in September 2025 to pursue a return to management, as he has expressed his desire to get back into the managerial hotseat. His previous role was his first football job since leaving the Wales job in 2022

Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level, playing at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 1989. His surname to that of his mother, when he was 16 years old a time when his mother remarried, two years after his parents' separation.

Legal matters: 

Giggs was cleared of domestic violence allegations in July 2023 after the charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Personal life: 

Giggs and his partner, Zarah Charles, welcomed a daughter, Cora, in November 2024. He also has two children from his previous marriage to Stacey Cooke. 

Awards: BBC Sports Personality of the Year. AND by the way, on this date in 1961, Jimmy Hill, known as a Soccer Pioneer, took over the running of Coventry City FC. They had just been knocked out of the First Round of the FA Cup by King's Lynn, a non-league club on what was known as "Black Saturday". The only goal Coventry scored was a comedy "shank" by King's Lynn's centre half. Black Saturday did for manager Billy Frith, who was replaced by former Fulham striker and self made, business man Jimmy Hill (below) who saw off the minimum wage as PFA Chairman. Did he ever "knock" one in with his chin?