Ryan Giggs has admitted it was ‘heartbreaking’ to miss out on managing Wales at a major tournament, nearly five years after the Manchester United legend stepped down from the role.
Giggs, 51, was appointed as Wales manager in January 2018 and led the country to Euro 2020, which was pushed back until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stood down as Wales manager after being arrested on suspicion of assault in November 2020. Giggs formally resigned as Wales manager in 2022 while facing trial.
Giggs was cleared of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville, who declined to co-operate with a retrial, in 2023. Giggs was also cleared on further counts of coercive or controlling behaviour against her and common assault against her sister Emma.
The former Man United and Wales winger’s lawyer said Giggs was ‘deeply relieved’ after being cleared, adding he had ‘always been innocent’ and that ‘very, very many lies had been told about him in court.’
Giggs – appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, presented by Qatar Airways, which goes live at 6am on Friday 25th April – opened up on his disappointment at being unable to manager Wales at Euro 2020.
Ryan Giggs has spoken of his disappointment at being unable to manage Wales at Euro 2020
Giggs stood down after after being arrested on suspicion of assault in 2020, but was cleared in 2023
Giggs revealed his emotions of seeing Wales progress to the knock-out stage without him
Wales were ultimately managed at the tournament by his assistant Rob Page, who later took permanent charge after Giggs formally resigned.
‘Yeah, I mean, it was heartbreaking. It was obviously a very difficult time because I’m watching it on TV,’ Giggs told Ferdinand.
‘And I’m like…who did we score against? We scored against, I can’t remember if it was Turkey.
‘We scored late on, and I’m jumping around the front room, and then all of a sudden, I look at the TV, and it’s all the staff and players jumping in the dugout, and I’m gone.
‘Sat down and gone.’
Ferdinand responded ‘Should have been me’, with Giggs admitting ‘Yeah, a bit of that.’
‘So, it was a bit, yeah, it was a difficult time.’
Wales ultimately finished second in their group, behind Italy, after drawing their opening match 1-1 against Switzerland before earning a 2-0 win over Turkey.
Giggs said he celebrated Wales win over Turkey in his living room, before being struck by the disappointment of not being with the team
Giggs, speaking to ex-team-mate Rio Ferdinand, admitted missing out on the tournament as manager had been a ‘difficult time’
He has yet to return to management but currently serves as Salford’s director of football
The national team were ultimately knocked out in the last-16, suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to Denmark.
Despite being cleared in 2023, Giggs has yet to return to football management.
Giggs, however, returned to the game as director of football of Salford City, a League Two club he co-owns with former Manchester United team-mates.
Listen to the full Rio Meets Ryan Giggs interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify from 6am, Friday 25th April.
