Two days after participating in the success of Manchester United in Leverkusen (5-0) in the Champions League, Ryan Giggs is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. And it does not stop talking.

Not because it is his 40th birthday but for fear of what his Manchester United team-mates might have in store for him on his big day.

Asked what the other players were planning, Giggs smiled nervously and said: “I don’t know. I’m not coming in on Friday – I’m going to stay in bed I think, just in case!”

Giggs has been mildly embarrassed about the fuss surrounding his landmark birthday but you can sense his pride at becoming only the fourth outfield player after Teddy Sheringham, Kevin Phillips and Gordon Strachan to play in the Premier League in their fourth decade.

“A big milestone? Not really,” he said before correcting himself. “Well, obviously it is. But I try not to think about it – until guys like you remind me. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

For Giggs it is simply the latest milestone of a remarkable career. The statistics he continues to rack up are mind-boggling.

In a senior career stretching nearly 23 years, he has made 953 appearances for his only club – add on his 64 caps for Wales and four for the GB Olympic team and he has gone well beyond the 1,000 mark. He is the most decorated player in the history of British football with 35 major medals; he has scored at least one goal in each of the last 22 top-flight seasons and has now played alongside 150 team-mates, three of whom were not even born when he made his debut in March 1991.

But his display in United’s 5-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday underlined that he is not included by manager David Moyes purely on reputation or sentiment. He is picked on merit because he is still one of the best players at the club.

Some observers have commented that the fact United still need to use a 40-year-old does not reflect well on their other midfielders or transfer market dealings in recent years. They have a point but that ignores the fact that Giggs can still make a telling contribution.

“I’ve never been guided by the age, just by how I felt,” said Giggs. “If I am contributing, if I am still getting picked, if I am still enjoying it. They are the sort of markers that I look for and I feel like I am doing all of those things. I probably could contribute a bit more, but hopefully that will come as the season goes on. Just because I’ve turned 40 doesn’t mean that’s it.

“If I felt like that then I might as well just pack it in now, but I still feel good and I’m still enjoying it.

“And I tend to enjoy it more in December and January when the games come thick and fast and I can get into a rhythm.

“When you have a bad game you are sort of ‘I didn’t feel fit enough, I didn’t feel right.’ You start asking questions of yourself because you are critical of yourself. I’m my own biggest critic. Those thoughts creep in a bit, but you have bad games when you are 19, 23, 26, 28. But if you have a bad game at 38, 39 then people say your legs have gone. ‘He’s too old.’ But that’s something you have to deal with.”

As for whether United can go all the way and conquer Europe again, Giggs remains upbeat. “If we put on performances like we did against Leverkusen then who knows?

“You’ve seen the speed and the quality we had up front. And we were missing a lot of quality and experienced players in Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick.

“It was good for the lads who maybe haven’t had much of a chance this season. They have taken it. Now it is up to them to stay in the team.” Even at 40 and with all those games on the clock, Giggs knows the same message applies to him.‘I feel good and I am enjoying it’

40th Birthday Ryan Giggs:The milestones with numbers Ryan Giggs Career

11 The Welshman holds the record for the most Premier League braces from players who have never scored a league hat-trick

13 Giggs has won as many league titles as Arsenal

10 Goals scored by Giggs against Tottenham and Middlesbrough, the opposition he has scored most frequently against

16 Champions League tournaments in which he has scored

4 Giggs would be only the fourth 40-year-old to play outfield in the Premier League after Teddy Sheringham, Kevin Phillips and Gordon Strachan

45 The Welshman has played at least one match against all 45 teams United have faced at Premier League level

37 at 37 years and 289 days, Giggs became the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history with a goal against Benfica in 2011

0 In more than 20 years at United, Giggs has never received a red card. The only time he has been sent off was for Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Norway in 2001

953 Giggs has made a record 953 appearances for Manchester United

34 Trophies won. He is the most decorated player in English history

Watch Manchester United Legend Ryan Giggs Speical Moments Video

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