Ryan Giggs an unfaithful 'love cheat' in relationships, court hears

Ryan Giggs said he had not done any of the things he is accused of "in the manner described"

Ryan Giggs has told a court he has never been faithful in his relationships.

Giving evidence in his defence, Mr Giggs was asked if his reputation for "infidelity" or being a "love cheat" was justified, to which he said he was "a flirt by nature".

Mr Giggs, 48, is accused of controlling behaviour, as well as assaulting Kate Greville, 38, and her younger sister Emma, 26, in November 2020.

He denies all charges.

When questioned by his defence barrister, Chris Daw QC, if he lied to partners including Ms Greville about being unfaithful he said: " Yes, more than once".

But when asked if he had ever physically assaulted a woman, he said "no", adding that he had never set out to control or coerce a woman.

Mr Daw asked: "Did you ever set out to make Kate Greville a slave to your demands, as she claims?"

"No, " the ex-footballer replied.

• Giggs' ex screamed in pain on 999 call, court told

• Covid lockdown with Giggs was hell, ex tells court

Mr Giggs said he met his now ex-wife around at a barbecue when he was 18 and the pair started a relationship when he was in his late 20s.

He told the court they moved to Worsley, Greater Manchester, and had two children with whom he has "a very good" relationship with today.

Ryan Giggs says he and Kate Greville's relationship progressed after they were both unhappy in their marriages

He said he was not faithful to Ms Greville and never told her about his previous infidelities.

"I wasn't honest with her, no," he told Mr Daw.

"The first time I met Kate I was immediately attracted to her, I thought she was attractive, I thought she was intelligent, I thought she was funny."

He went on to say how the pair started flirting and that he thought she "looked hot" after swapping pictures of each from their travels.

The pair had sex for the first time the night before a planned London photo-shoot for Cafe Football, which they had kept secret.

Mr Daw asked: "What was the balance of interest in that?"

Giggs replied: "It was equal. We went back to the hotel room. We had sex and stayed the night."

Unhappy marriages

From that point, he said, the two talked about how unhappy they both were in their marriages.

He said Ms Greville left her husband "no longer than six months" after their first sexual contact.

Mr Giggs said he continued to stay at his family home with his wife Stacey and their two children as the affair carried on.

Ryan Giggs' football career ended with him as the most decorated player in the Premier League era, with 34 trophies

That relationship with his current wife at the time came to an end after a press article related him to Ms Greville in 2016, he said.

"She (Stacey) questioned me about it. I denied it."

Shortly after in the summer of 2016 he said Ms Greville was planning to move to Abu Dhabi for a work opportunity - he "didn't want her to go" but the pair agreed to "make it work".

Mr Daw asked about an incident at the Westin Hotel in Dubai in 2017, when Kate Greville alleges Mr Giggs dragged her naked body across the floor of his hotel room before throwing her belongings into a corridor.

Mr Giggs said the pair had been "delighted" to have a chance to see each other again but things took a turn for the worse after he started replying to a message from his daughter in a club.

"I could just feel Kate sort of looking over and sort of wondering who I was messaging. I just got a bit irritated because she was making it quite obvious she was peering over my shoulder. I just said: 'I'm messaging Libby'."

He said after he "stormed off" to his hotel room, Ms Greville followed him and they got into an argument.

Denying there was any "physical element" to this, he said he started packing her suitcase and told her he did not want her to stay with him.

"Kate was trying to stop me from putting clothes and various other stuff into the suitcase.

"I didn't manage to shut it but I was ushering her towards the front door with the suitcase."

• Giggs threatened ex's sister after assault - court

• Giggs resigns as Wales manager

He said they were "half outside" in the corridor and half in the hotel room before Ms Greville managed to get the suitcase back and get back into the room.

Mr Giggs said he then told Kate Greville to sleep on the sofa, but after they calmed down they had sex and spent the night together in the same bed.

"We had sex that we would have quite often which could get quite rough, but not anything weird, but just rough."

Mr Daw said: "Was that sort of sexual activity something the two of you engaged in regularly?"

Giggs replied: "Yes," adding he and Ms Greville were both the instigator after not seeing eachother for a long period of time.

He told the court there was no issue between the two of them the next day and that the incident in the relationship "wasn't unusual but I wouldn't say it was regular".

Injuries from 'scuffle'

Earlier, in a statement read to Manchester Crown Court, Ryan Giggs said his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville had attacked him on 1 November 2020.

He said this incident resulted in injuries she said she sustained when he headbutted her.

The jury heard he asked both sisters to leave his house but they refused.

"I had no option but to demand my phone to ring the police. I went to the utility room to get hers [Kate Greville's].

"At this point she gave me my phone and, rather foolishly, I decided to keep hers.

"I should not have done this but [I] was emotional, angry and upset."

The ex-Wales and Manchester United star said he planned to call the police but Kate Greville grabbed his hand and a scuffle developed with her sister Emma, who was "standing in close proximity".

He stated: "I accept during this scuffle my head clashed with hers [Kate]. I am not sure if it was the face or head but I am sure it was not deliberate."

Emma Greville previously told the court Mr Giggs grabbed her sister by the shoulders and headbutted her, before turning to her and saying: "I'll headbutt you next."

He is charged with controlling and coercive behaviour against Kate Greville between August 2017 and November 2020.

He is also charged with assaulting Kate Greville, causing her actual bodily harm, and charged with the common assault of Emma Greville on 1 November 2020.

Ryan Giggs has denied being controlling or coercive with his ex-girlfriend

In a prepared defence statement given to police and read in court by prosecutor Peter Wright QC, Mr Giggs said: "I will not accept that my behaviour towards my former partner has been in any way controlling or coercive, nor that I have done any of the incidents in the manner described."

He told police there were occasions Ms Greville tried to "control our relationship," including one incident when she was jealous of his "contact with other females".

He also said he did not recall threatening to release intimate photos or videos of the couple.

His statement said even if a threat had been made "in jest or in drink," it would be "preposterous" for Ms Greville to believe it would be carried out.

The trial continues.