Ryan Giggs clocks up 900th incident of playing away from home

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs yesterday reached the milestone of playing away from home for a record 900th time.

Giggs, who was awarded the OBE for services to the hotel industry, scored in Norwich, bringing his tally to the impressive figure.

United fan Gary Hartson explained what the achievement meant to him: “At school I was always the one who was picked last at the disco.

“I knew I’d just end up married to the girl next door and living happily ever after, never once getting the chance to sleep around with people who had been on Big Brother.

“But through people like Giggsy I can live my dreams. What is it about these multi-millionaires that women find so irresistible?”

Simon Nicholls from Slough agreed. “There were the drought years when his marriage was good, but I always knew he’d do it.

“It’s a fantastic achievement, particularly when you remember that he was up against the likes of George Best.

“He’s also won the one trophy that every amateur philanderer dreams of: the sister-in-law.”

Many playing away careers have been cut short by injury, but Giggs has never picked up so much as a groin strain in 21 years.

Other promising careers have simply fizzled out, the former young playboy forced to ply his trade in the lower leagues of provincial nightclubs, but Giggs has always played away from home at the highest level.

Fan Ian Phillips happily reminisced in his memories of Giggs’s glory years of playing away. “Who can forget that magical night in 1999 in Barcelona? Utterly amazing.

“And part of a treble too.”