Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (Order of the British Empire)cite news title=OBE honour for United hero Giggsurl=Newsdate=11 December 2007accessdate=20 November 2008 location=London (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh (Wales) footballer (association football) who has played for Manchester United (Manchester United F.C.) for his entire professional career (List of one-club men). He established himself as a left-winger (Midfielder#Winger) during the 1990s and continued in this position well into the 2000s, but he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking (playmaker) role in his later years.

Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in English football history. On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in every single season of the Premier League since its inception.

Giggs has had a long-lasting domestic and continental career and is the first player in UEFA Champions League history to have scored in 11 successive seasons, on top of being elected into the PFA (Professional Footballers Association) Team of the Century in 2007, the English Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs is also the only United player to have played in all 11 Premier League winning teams and all three League Cup winning teams. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charltons record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the clubs all-time leader in appearances.

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team (Welsh national football team) prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country. As well as the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends (the last active player in the list), he was appointed an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the Queens 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009.