MANCHESTER, UK – Formerly Manchester United Coach Sir Alex Ferguson was called on Friday as a witness for Ryan Giggs in a trial involving the former Premier League player.
Giggs on trial for assault and used the act of forcing an ex-girlfriend.
Ferguson, 80, who gave evidence in the courtroom on the 10th of the trial, said that Giggs had a “great temperament.”
He told the court: “In order to have a career as long as he’s been struggling, in terms of willpower, he’s accomplished everything we’ve always dreamed of.”
“Everybody sees Ryan Giggs as number one,” he added.
Asked by Giggs’ attorney if he had ever seen his former player “lose his temper or become aggressive,” Ferguson said: “No.”
Ferguson said Giggs was strong enough to take “the sharp tip of my tongue.”
“I used Ryan a lot in the sense that, when I lost my temper about a performance, I would sometimes take Ryan as an example,” Ferguson said.
“Everybody else,” he added, “in the dressing room will think, ‘If Ryan Giggs can get it, we can all get it.”
Giggs, 48, is accused of assaulting Kate Greville, 36, and causing actual bodily harm at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, in November 2020. He is also charged with assault. assaulted Greville’s sister in the same incident, as well as using the act of controlling and raping an ex-girlfriend from August 2017 to November 2020.
Giggs has denied all allegations.
He resigned as manager of the Wales national team in June, said he did not want to jeopardize preparations for the World Cup later this year in Qatar. He has been on leave since November.
Ferguson, who was United’s coach from 1986 to 2013, called Giggs to make his first-team debut at the age of 17.
“The thing is, the press started comparing him to [former United star] George Best. We were faced with a lot of attention on the boy. I said to his mother, ‘Look, if you can trust me, I’ll take care of him.’
Ferguson added: “When someone says you’re the next George Best, it’s a big deal. But the boy is great, no problem.”
During his trial, Giggs said his reputation for infidelity was justified but that he had “never” assaulted a woman.
