Evergreen Giggs set for record 900th Manchester United appearance

By Ben James Feb 24, 2012, 15:25 GMT

London - Ryan Giggs, at 38 seemingly as fresh as ever, will set yet another record on Sunday if he is selected to play for Manchester United away to Norwich.

The Welshman stands on 899 appearances for the club in all competitions, having just signed a new one-year contract with the Premier League champions.

Though the pace of his younger years may have dimmed somewhat, he is still willing to take players on but chooses his moments and has migrated from the wing into the centre of midfield.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson uses him sparingly but Giggs has still played a big part in helping the club to rank just two points behind leaders Manchester City.

Ferguson this week said that Giggs even eclipses former Italy defender Paolo Maldini, who played 902 matches for AC Milan over a glorious 25-year career.

'Maldini was a defender and although he did a lot of running as a full-back, wide players have more work to do than full-backs,' Ferguson said. 'That's the distinction between the two, although Maldini was obviously a magnificent player.'

Giggs, who has scored 162 goals and set up countless more for his team-mates, broke Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances back in 2008, when he scored a penalty as United beat Chelsea in the Champions League final.

'It's amazing,' Ferguson said. 'When we went to Moscow he beat Bobby Charlton's record. It's phenomenal and he keeps defying his age. His performance level now is as it was then. Nothing's changed.

'I think Ryan's maturity and the fact we've changed his position has given a new aspect to his game. We remember him running up and down the touchline, running at full-backs.

'From my point of view, and not everyone will agree with me, is that being in the Premier League for as long as he has and achieved what he has, I don't think anybody else will ever do it.'

Giggs joined United in 1990 and was an integral part of the side that won the Premier League in 1993 before going on to dominate the English league.

Together with Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt, Giggs helped United win a host of trophies, whittling away the gap between themselves and Liverpool in terms of league titles.

Last summer, Giggs and Ferguson ensured that United surpassed Liverpool with their 19th league title.

Giggs has contributed to 12 of them, winning two Champions League trophies, four FA Cups, four League Cups, nine Community Shields, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one Uefa Super Cup and one Fifa World Club Cup.

As one of United's latest young players, Tom Cleverley, put it: 'I remember pretending to be Ryan Giggs in the back garden.'

Read more about Giggs

Read more about ManchesterUnited