Ryan Giggs makes return to football with Salford City – the club he co-owns

Ryan Giggs has quietly resumed working in football at Salford City – the club he owns with his former Manchester United team-mates.

Giggs had been out of the game between November 2020 and July last year after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend Kate Greville while manager of Wales.

He stood trial in 2022 over accusations he had attacked Greville and her sister but jurors failed to reach a verdict.

A retrial was ordered but he was found not guilty after prosecutors said Greville had “indicated an unwillingness” to give evidence, with doing so previously having “taken its toll” on her and her sister.

Giggs, who always denied the charges, has since taken on the role of director of football at League Two Salford, although his appointment has never been formally announced.

The 50-year-old remained a director of the club throughout the criminal action against him alongside ‘Class of 92’ colleagues David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, and Nicky Butt.

Giggs, Beckham, the Nevilles, Butt and Paul Scholes each own 10 per cent of Salford, with Singaporean businessman Peter Lim holding the other 40 per cent.

Scholes stepped down as a director five years ago to take the manager’s job at Oldham Athletic but retained his stake in Salford.

The co-owners will mark the 10th anniversary of their high-profile purchase of the club in two weeks’ time.

The club are currently 20th in League Two, eight points above Colchester in the division’s final relegation spot, having lost 3-1 at MK Dons at the weekend.

Salford announced last month that they had launched “a process to explore new strategic partners for the club to support its ambitious growth targets”.

Butt, who replaced Gary Neville as chief executive in October, said: “We are backing Salford City with as much commitment and confidence as ever.

“We have achieved very special things here but there are major opportunities in front of us and we want to make sure we have the right mix of investment and strategic partners to take advantage of those opportunities.

“We had an original 10-year plan and with strong foundations now in place, it was always the intention to explore options for the next phase.

“That includes potentially bringing in new partners to help us grow the club and best serve the fans and community.”