Ryan Giggs: What happened to coaching career of Man Utd icon?

Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in the Premier League and a successful former Wales manager. However, why does he seem to be on the fringes of the football world in some people's eyes?

Despite his many achievements in football, 18 months after domestic abuse charges against him were dropped, the 51-year-old former star's only role in the sport is as director of football at Salford City, the League Two club he co-owns with friends and former Manchester United team-mates.

Giggs was formally found not guilty after his ex-girlfriend refused to give evidence in a retrial. He has always denied the charges and stated his determination to rebuild his coaching career. However, even the Premier League has yet to find a place for him in its Hall of Fame, and with over four years since he last managed Wales, it leaves some wondering when, or if, he will return to football.

It is a quarter of a century since Giggs scored that iconic goal in the 1999 FA Cup, helping Manchester United reach the final with his mesmerizing dribbling and shot. This Saturday, Giggs will return to the public eye in the same competition, when Salford City travel to nearby Manchester City in a game to be broadcast live on BBC One.

Giggs has been a regular presence on the touchline at Salford's Moor Lane in recent months and he will surely relish the opportunity to play against the club where he began his career before joining Manchester United aged 14. But for many viewers it will be their first glimpse of Giggs in some time, and a reminder of how his coaching career has been derailed by controversy.

A key member of Manchester United's historic 1999 Treble-winning squad, Giggs had spells as a player-coach and interim manager at Old Trafford. He then became Wales manager in January 2018, leading the team to qualification for Euro 2020 (which was postponed until the summer of 2021 due to the Covid pandemic).

However, he resigned from the post in November 2020 after being arrested on suspicion of assault, and officially left the role in 2022. Giggs subsequently stood trial, with the jury failing to reach a majority verdict on charges that he had assaulted his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville and her sister Emma during the same incident in November 2020.

The jury also failed to reach a majority verdict on charges that he had engaged in controlling and coercive behavior towards Greville over a three-year period. Giggs denied ever assaulting women but admitted to infidelity in all of his previous relationships. While his lawyer, Chris Daw, said the allegations of physical abuse were lies made up by a "jilted" woman, some abusive messages he sent to Greville were read out in court, with Giggs admitting one of the messages was a threat.

In 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop the charges, meaning a planned retrial was abandoned, after Greville stated she felt "exhausted" and unable to go through the process of giving evidence again. Giggs was found not guilty, with Daw saying his "hugely relieved" client intended to "rebuild his life and career as an innocent man."

However, his reputation – already damaged by his extra-marital affairs – suffered further damage through the exposure of the initial trial, and his future became uncertain. Giggs' 10% stake in Salford City has allowed him a quiet return to football. It is a club he bought in 2014 with former Manchester United team-mates Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.

Unlike his former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who appeared as a character witness for Giggs during the trial, the group known as the "Class of '92" did not appear in court. But his former team-mates, including David Beckham, who also invested in Salford in 2019, have been supportive of their friend.

Salford City did not formally announce Giggs' appointment as director of football when it was first revealed last March. But its YouTube channel later released an in-house interview with him, showing Giggs working with manager Karl Robinson at training and on the touchline. Robinson has praised Giggs' help as "outstanding" and Salford are in good form, pushing for promotion - they currently occupy the third automatic promotion spot in the League Two table.

Giggs has also featured heavily in a behind-the-scenes documentary on Sky about the club's fortunes. Manchester United have also welcomed the former star back, with Giggs having made a record 963 appearances for the club over 25 years. He has been quietly invited into the Old Trafford directors' box and undertook a commercial engagement in Indonesia last summer for the club's official far-east banking partner, Maybank.

While all of this indicates he is reintegrating into football, elsewhere the sport seems more cautious. Despite holding the record for 13 Premier League winners' medals, Giggs has not been included in the 24-member Premier League Hall of Fame. In 2024, he was not among the latest 15-man shortlist of nominees, with many believing his absence is down to the controversy surrounding his character.

The Premier League declined to comment on the reasons for his omission. BBC Sport has also learned from multiple sources that the Football Association of Wales did not consider Giggs when they sacked Rob Page as national team manager last year. Some senior figures were concerned that a return at that stage could have faced resistance and might be seen as contrary to the governing body's "For Her" strategy, which "aims to transform the landscape of women's football in Wales".

Giggs - who was spotted watching his former side in a pub near his Cheshire home during the Qatar World Cup - did not formally apply for the position, and the FAW appointed Craig Bellamy, leaving some to wonder when the former winger will get a chance to return to senior management. "I know he was very disappointed to leave the Wales job," Dave Adams, the FAW's chief football officer, who worked with Giggs for a year, told BBC Sport.

"We had qualified for the Euros, which was a great achievement, and he never got the chance to go there with the team. I'm sure that was very difficult for him and I guess he still has that desire to feel the success as a manager that he did as a player."

"When coaches have been out of the game for a while, you can look at coming back in as an assistant but it has to be at a level of job that respects you and your experience. If there is a former team-mate managing somewhere, that can be an easy fit but in that generation, not many are at the level that would be beneficial to him."

"It is a competitive market and young coaches are very prominent now, so there will not be as many opportunities for him. If you are a club owner you still have the record as a player of being part of a winning culture, a serial winner, someone who will demand high standards."

"His record with Wales showed how successfully he managed a transition, which is also what owners are looking for in a manager now. The game does move very quickly but when I last spoke to Ryan he was spending a lot of time watching games, so he is keeping up to date and I'm sure he would adapt."

However, others have concerns. In 2023, domestic abuse campaigners expressed disappointment at the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to proceed with a retrial. BBC Sport asked the charity Women's Aid about Giggs' more visible role at Salford and the prospect of a return to management.

In a statement, the organisation said it was "disheartening to see an alleged perpetrator being considered for a return to positions of influence and power". "Football is a global sport with a passionate following of millions of young boys and men, many of whom look to players, coaches and directors as role models."

"Football clubs and the sporting industry have a responsibility to uphold respect, equality and safety for women and children. Women's Aid has demonstrated the impact of these partnerships through its work with football clubs - we hope that more clubs will follow these examples and seize the opportunity to create real change."

Giggs has not spoken about the case in interviews and BBC Sport has been told he will not be commenting on it at this time. Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester ahead of the FA Cup tie, he confirmed he would "one day" like to return to management. "I was the manager of Wales and I loved it," said Giggs. "At the moment, I am enjoying my role as director of football at Salford and enjoying watching the team play, I am happy with the situation, but ultimately I want to get back into management. On match days, I still get as excited as I ever did, probably more so."

Those close to Giggs insist he has not applied for any managerial positions and that after a period of reflection and spending time with his family, this year may see him focus more on a return. So how realistic is that? "A manager is not just about coaching a group of players, he is also an ambassador," says Tim Jotischky, a reputation management specialist at PHA Group.

"While Giggs has not been found guilty of any criminal offences, the court case revealed very unsavoury behaviour, which any club would have to weigh up when considering whether he is a suitable appointment. They would have to consider the reaction of sponsors and commercial partners as well as supporters."

"The football fanbase has changed dramatically in the last few years. It is estimated that more than a quarter of the audience attending Premier League matches are women, compared to 15% when Giggs was at his peak in 2005. Any club appointing Giggs as manager could face a backlash from female fans, which could spill over to its commercial partners."

Jotischky believes it would be easier for Giggs to rebuild his career overseas, adding that his best hope of finding a job in England is "finding a club with a thick-skinned owner who is more concerned with on-field success than off-field image". "If Giggs does eventually find a management job, he has to be prepared to face the allegations against him," he added.

"He needs a media strategy to address the issue from the outset, or risk being asked endlessly about whether he is a suitable role model." Away from Salford, Giggs has plenty to keep him busy. He takes a keen interest in the career of his son, Zach, who is currently in the youth ranks at Sheffield United and was recently called up to the Wales Under-19 squad. In November, Giggs and his partner celebrated the birth of a daughter.

He is also a co-owner of the Manchester hotels, the Stock Exchange and Hotel Football, with former Old Trafford team-mate Gary Neville, as well as other business interests, including a padel tennis venture - a sport he says he tries to play most days. But on the work front, Giggs has stated that football management is where his heart lies, something he realised when he took temporary charge of Manchester United for four games in 2014.

Instead, in April he will resume his 'An Evening With Ryan Giggs' tour, giving speeches in front of paying audiences. Last year he did similar talks in Northampton, Radlett and Chester, where attendees paid up to £250 for "the chance to meet one of the greats of the game".

In one of his talks, Giggs again expressed his desire to get back into management, saying: "I loved managing Wales, that's obvious. I do miss it, so hopefully." But for now, his wait goes on, with it remaining uncertain when, and if, that wait will end.