Saturday, August 20, 2022 – Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a stand in court to give evidence in Ryan Giggs’s domestic assault trial.
The legendary ex-football boss who helped convince a teenage Giggs to join the football club, arrived at Manchester Crown Court this afternoon.
The former Manchester United manager, 80, spoke about his relationship at the club with Giggs, who is on trial charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville.
Sir Alex told Manchester Crown Court on Friday August 19, that Giggs had a “fantastic temperament”, adding: “To have a career as long as he had in a difficult position, in terms of energy, he fulfilled everything we ever wished for.”
Sir Alex said: ‘He was being compared to George Best. There was a lot of press and media attention on him. I saw him every day, I was his manager. The boy was great, he was no problem.
‘As he got older he had a wonderful temperament. In the dressing room, I used Ryan as an example a lot. I would lose my temper over performances. Sometimes he got the sharp end of my tongue. But I knew he could take it, he was strong enough.
‘Everyone in the dressing room would think, if Ryan Giggs can take it, we all can take it.’
Asked by Giggs’s barrister Chris Daw QC if he had ever seen him “lose his temper or become aggressive”, Sir Alex replied: “No.”
When asked to describe his temperament, Sir Alex replied: ‘Fantastic, wonderful temperament. To have a career as long as he did, in terms of energy and attitude he was the best.
‘He was the best example that I had. Everyone looked at Ryan as the number one.’
Giggs’ barrister, Chris Daw QC, also asked whether Giggs was a player who had ‘a number of girlfriends and lady friends?’
To which Sir Alex answered: ‘Well at that stage (his teenage years), I don’t think there was. When he was older we did dinners at the end of the season he would bring a friend with him, yeah.’
Giggs, 48, is accused of ‘headbutting’ his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville during a row at his £1.7million mansion in Worsley, Greater Manchester, in November 2020.
The ex-United star is also accused of assaulting Ms. Greville’s sister Emma during the same row and using coercive and controlling behaviour. He denies the allegations and is on trial.
This morning, the trial heard how loved-up Ryan Giggs messaged his ex-girlfriend: ‘You are the jam in my doughnut, the truffle in my pasta, and the salt in my tequila’.
In a series of toe-curling love notes, read out in court this morning, the former footballer compared ex-girlfriend Kate Greville to Fort Knox, ‘because it’s full of gold’.
The former Wales star also signed off one text to the PR executive referring to himself as ‘Giggsy’ – a nickname commonly used throughout his football career – and told her ‘reiterate is a big word for this time of day’ during an early morning texting session, the court heard.
In another exchange, Giggs told Ms Greville he had made ‘scrambled eggs a la chef Giggsy’ for breakfast, and messaged his former flame saying: ‘I think you’re fandabidozi’.
Giggs also wrote an acrostic poem using the first letters of Ms Greville’s surname, including ‘Gorgeous’ for ‘G’, ‘Vivacious’ for ‘V’ and ‘Everything I’ve Ever Wanted’ for ‘E’.
Meanwhile, Ms. Greville wrote her own explicit poetry to the ex-Premier League star, including one message which read: ‘I’m counting down the days, I’m thinking of all the ways. I’m going to make that gorgeous c*** of yours raise.’
Many of the gushing messages, read out over more than an hour and a half this morning, contained a number of kisses at the end.
Lawyers had initially read them out saying ‘kiss, kiss’ at the end of each text. But Judge Hilary Manley eventually intervened, saying: ‘Sorry to interrupt but we probably don’t need the kiss, kiss, kiss’.
The barristers, who are acting as Giggs and Ms Greville as they read out the exchanges, laughed and both agreed.
Judge Manley also intervened when one of the lawyers began reading out a message from Ms Greville to Giggs, which read: ‘I love, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.’
Judge Manley said: ‘I think ‘I love you repeated’ would do.’ She said: ‘We need to keep the gravity of this situation.’
The court heard how in February 2020, Giggs messaged Katie Harvey, who his then-partner was with.
Ms. Harvey told Giggs that Ms. Greville had broken her phone. He thanked Ms. Harvey for being so ‘kind’ to him, and said: ‘I know I can be a pest.’
She replied: ‘You are, but you love her.’
Yesterday, on day nine of the trial, lawyers read out a cringeworthy poem from Giggs to Ms Greville and shared messages in which he made grandiose proclamations of his love during the course of their rocky relationship.
In one particularly explicit poem, read out in court as part of the former footballer’s domestic assault trial, with Giggs’s 66-year-old mother Lynn present, the former Wales midfielder wrote to the PR executive: ‘My darling Kate, Unequivocally our love was fate.
‘I fell in love with you at first sight. I remember cos I was as high as a kite. Those beautiful eyes made me shiver. I’m not going to lie I think of you I dream of you. Can’t help thinking pulling you was my greatest ever coup.
‘That stomach, those abs, those pictures you send so I can keep tabs. You make me feel funny down there. Especially when you’re there and you look up and stare.
‘I am beginning to think you are always right. That’s ok it will keep us tight. I’m gonna end by saying you are my love, my friend, my soul. And most of all you believe in me which makes me as hard as a totem pole.’
Manchester Crown Court heard the father of two sent the poem on August 31, 2017 – the day the coercive control is alleged to have started.
It was sent in response to a poem from Ms Greville in which she wrote: ‘You make my heart flutter because you are a nutter. Every day you do me proud not just because you are well endowed.’
The court also heard how, during their ‘toxic’ six-year on-and-off relationship, Giggs wrote several texts making strong declarations of love.
In one, the ex-football star, who made 632 appearances in England’s top division, wrote: ‘I love you to the next planet those clever f****** at Nasa finds. Plus all my Premier League appearances, which is a lot. Love you baby.’
The ex-Premier League star is accused of assaulting Ms Greville – who claims Giggs ‘deliberately’ headbutted her – during the incident at his home in November 2020.
He is also accused of assaulting Ms. Greville’s sister Emma – who was dog sitting on the night of the incident and who claims Giggs elbowed her after she tried to intervene.
Giggs denies the charges, as well as using controlling and coercive behaviour towards Kate during their ‘toxic’ six-year on-and-off relationship, and is currently on trial at Manchester Crown Court.
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