Former Manchester United manager is giving evidence at his ex-player Ryan Giggs’s assault trial.
Ex-Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson told the Ryan Giggs trial that the former footballer had a “fantastic temperament”.
Sir Alex said Mr Giggs was “without doubt the best example we had at the club” and “everyone looked at Ryan Giggs as the number one,”
The ex-Manchester United player denies controlling behaviour and assaulting his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville.
Mr Giggs, 48, also denies assaulting Ms Greville’s younger sister Emma, 26.
The incident is alleged to have happened at the former Manchester United midfielder and ex-Wales manager’s home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on 1 November 2020.
Sir Alex, 80, called as a defence witness, told the jury at Manchester Crown Court: “To have a career as long as he had in a difficult position, in terms of energy, he fulfilled everything we ever wished for.”
Speaking of his early encounters with Mr Giggs as a child, Sir Alex said: “We visited his (Mr Giggs’) house to try to convince him to come to Manchester United. Myself and my assistant Archie Knox.”
Chris Daw QC asked: “Did you get to know him as a child during that period?”
Sir Alex replied: “His main contact was his mother. She was very good. Very accommodating. Ryan was a quiet boy. He just sat there listening to what was being said. His mum did all the talking.”
He said they spoke about the “ambitions” for the club.
Sir Alex said: “They had been going through a bad period when I arrived at the club in 1986. We had a big job to do. We saw Ryan as one step towards a better situation in regard to young players.”
Sir Ferguson told the court Ryan Giggs signed a schoolboy form with Manchester United before getting into the first team at the age of 17.
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He said: “That was was the first time we had to really think about looking after him.
“The thing was, the press started comparing him with George Best. We had to face a lot of attention on the boy.
“I said to his mother: ‘Look, if you are able to trust me I’ll look after him’.
“If any media came to him they had to come through me. We did this to protect him.
“When someone’s saying you’re the next George Best, it’s a big issue. But the boy was great, no problems.
“Any media who came towards me wanting to do articles had to come through me.”
‘Fantastic record’
Mr Daw QC asked Sir Alex if he was aware of Mr Giggs having girlfriends.
Sir Alex said: “When we had dinners at the end of the season he would bring a friend with him, yeah.”
He said Mr Giggs played for Manchester United from the ages of 17 to 41 and had a “fantastic record”.
Sir Alex told the court: “When he got older the issue of the dressing room became – I used Ryan a lot in the sense of, when I lost my temper about performance I would use Ryan as an example sometimes.
“He got the sharp end of my tongue but I knew he could take it, he was strong enough.
“Everyone else in the dressing room would think: ‘If Ryan Giggs can take it, we can all take it’.”
The trial is continuing.