Ryan Giggs' Manchester United Teammates 2.0: Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Gary Neville

December 30, 2018
Posted by Steven Tan | Source from Ryan Giggs, Sky Sports
Ryan Giggs sat down with Soccer AM's Tubes to reveal his Manchester United Teammates 2.0, including the best dressed and Mr Grumpy.
 
The Wales manager spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford from 1990 to 2014, making 963 appearances in all competitions.
 
Giggs will be lacing up his boots again in the new year, featuring for Wales at Star Sixes in Glasgow, which will be shown live on Sky Sports.
 
But who was the best dressed, most skilful and always grumpy at Man Utd? Giggs reveals all...
 
Giggs will be playing for Wales in the Star Sixes tournament in Glasgow January 4-6, live on Sky Sports - find out more here
 

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Player's Player

Paul Scholes is Ryan Giggs' pick for Player's Player
 
Probably Cristiano Ronaldo overall, because of what he's gone and done at Real Madrid. But for my duration at Man Utd, the best player I played with was Paul Scholes. He was just a step ahead of every other player on the football pitch - normally in games but also in training. You couldn't touch him.
 

Funny Man

Early doors, it was Roy Keane and Nicky Butt and then towards the end, Patrice Evra. I'm not on social media but apparently everyone has seen him. Patrice was good at taking people off, impressions of how people would walk or speak. If you had a walk, he could take you off in an instant. He was funny. There were just little things that you wouldn't notice until he bought it to your attention. He was watching you all the time.
 

Showboat King

Cristiano, definitely. When he first came to Man Utd, he was probably doing too many skills on the pitch and not enough end product then once he got rid of that and started scoring goals and making them, he still had that where he could turn it on.
 
Cristiano Ronaldo was full of skills and tricks when he arrived at Man Utd
 
He was young when he joined, he was 18 and still learning his trade. It was a tough school to come in to, he was doing too many skills, as I said, but often, if he was taking too many touches, he would get kicked in training. He had to grow up quite quickly and he certainly did that to go on and be one of the best players in the world.
 

Hard as Nails

Roy was obviously hard. I played with Jaap Stam and Steve Bruce too, who would literally have to have a broken leg to not play. He would pull his hamstrings and say to the physios: 'just stick some Deep Heat on it, I'll be OK'. It was ridiculous. He had a hernia in about 1993 or 1994 and I think he played with it for about a year, had the operation and then came back after two-and-a-half weeks.
 
Steve Bruce was a hard man in the Man Utd team, according to Ryan Giggs
 

Hot Stepper

Patrice could dance. He was in charge of the music before the games while he was copying people's dancing. He might have been copying my dances! He could move. In my younger days, I had a few moves as well.
 

Nutmeg King

Laurent Blanc in the boxes before we would go in - five or six against two - he was a little cheeky nutmeg king. You wouldn't think it because he is so tall but he would do a slow one where he would roll it with his laces just through. It was a killer.
 
Ryan Giggs is now manager of the Wales national team
 

Speed Demon

Andrei Kanchelskis was quick and he looked quick. When he runs, some people look effortless and he did that. He just looked mean when he ran, he looked powerful. I was quite quick but I can't pick myself. I wasn't quicker than Andre, maybe with the ball I was, but in a race, he was better.
 

Best Dressed

Probably Becks [David Beckham]. He took a lot of pride in how he looked and obviously took a few risks over the years too, but he was always smart.
 

Worst Trainer

Players like Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, who would train but would mostly just be there. But on the pitch, when it matters, they would turn up.
 

Mr Grumpy

Gary Neville was the grumpiest of the bunch, says his former teammate Ryan Giggs
 
You might have already guessed this but it's Gary Neville and he's not changed. It would be about everything - training, having a go at the kit man, the chef, everyone - saying that it is just not quite good enough. Like I said, he's not changed. Everyone tells him to shut up, but it doesn't seem to deter him. I think it just makes him happy, he'd be lost without it.
 
  • Related keywords: Steve Bruce, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrei Kanchelskis