Inter manager Jose Mourinho has taken time out to pay tribute to
Ryan Giggs who he believes is the greatest player ever to grace the
Premier League.
Since breaking into the Manchester United first team as a
17-year-old, Giggs has gone on to win ten Premier League
titles and two Champions League titles and also holds the
club’s appearance record, having surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton’s
landmark last season.
“What can you say about a man who has won ten Premier League
titles? The proof is in his medals," Mourinho told the Sunday
Mirror.
“Yes, maybe we are talking about the greatest Premier League player
of all time.
“At the very least no player has contributed so much to a single
Premier League club as Ryan Giggs has to Manchester United.”
Of course Mourinho knows Giggs well after spending three years in
the Premier League with Chelsea and the two also came face-to-face
in the Champions League in midweek.
The Welshman has been partially reinvented as a central midfielder
this season, to save his ageing legs, and Mourinho lauded this
decision.
“He has found new life in central midfield this season, and I think
that has been very important for United’s season,” explained the
Inter boss.
“At 35, he is going to have lost some of his pace, of course - but
Sir Alex has been very clever playing him in a new position and
like we have seen in the past with players like Zola, Bergkamp and
Zidane - quality shines through beyond age.”
Mourinho will come up against Giggs in the second leg of their
Champions League tie at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening and
he tipped the veteran to outshine his younger team-mates in
United's bid for more silverware.
“They have their young, wonderful players like Cristiano Ronaldo
and Wayne Rooney,” said Mourinho.
“But who knows, maybe it will be Giggs who makes the difference for
them in the Premier and Europe this season.”