Giggs: Age Is Just A Number

Ryan Giggs has dismissed the relevance of age to his career as the Manchester United legend celebrates his 40th birthday.

The Welshman turns 40 on Friday and Giggs remains an integral member of United's playing ranks, despite also taking up a coaching role in the summer following David Moyes' appointment.

He sparkled in central midfield during United's 5-0 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League in midweek in a performance which showed how Giggs has developed as a player since he burst onto the scene as a buccaneering winger in the early 1990s.

Giggs does not believe age should factor into any thoughts of retirement and his priority is ensuring that he can still make a positive contribution to United.

"There is an ageism thing but I just take it as a challenge," said Giggs. "I will know myself when it is time.

"The thing you have to come to terms with is people saying, 'His legs have gone, he shouldn't be in the team because he is too old'.

"But I had bad games when I was 19, 20 or 25, 26, probably more in fact. You just have to weigh up are you still effective, are you still contributing, is the manager still picking you?"