{"id":1194411,"date":"2026-09-09T04:03:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T04:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194411\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T04:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T04:03:27","slug":"ryan-giggs-reveals-pep-guardiola-hailed-england-star-as-the-best-player-at-manchester-united-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1194411\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Giggs reveals Pep Guardiola hailed England star as the ‘best player’ at Manchester United | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"
\n\t\tManchester United legend Ryan Giggs (Picture: YouTube)<\/p>\n

Ryan Giggs<\/a> has revealed Pep Guardiola<\/a> expressed his huge admiration for Manchester United<\/a> forward Marcus Rashford<\/a> in front of Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Giggs recalled a dinner he attended with then-Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Old Trafford legend Ferguson \u2018about eight or nine years ago\u2019.<\/p>\n

At one point during the night out, Giggs asked Guardiola which Manchester United players he most admired, believing David de Gea would be his go-to answer.<\/p>\n

De Gea was one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the time, winning United\u2019s Player of the Year award four times in the space of five seasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tExclusive Premier League previews\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter.\u00a0Sign up now<\/a> for free.<\/p>\n

But Guardiola instead singled out Rashford for praise, insisting he would \u2018take him at Man City<\/a> tomorrow\u2019.<\/p>\n

Rashford reached double figures in each of his first five full seasons after breaking into the first team at Old Trafford, scoring 22 goals in 2019-20 and 21 the year after.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"KANSAS
\n\t\tMan Utd and England star Marcus Rashford (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

The England<\/a> star\u2019s best season for the Red Devils came in 2022-23 when he netted an impressive 30 goals in all competitions.<\/p>\n

Rashford\u2019s numbers have tailed off since then and his United future looked in huge threat after he was banished by Ruben Amorim<\/a> and loaned out to Barcelona.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old was keen to stay at the Nou Camp on a permanent transfer<\/a> but Barca opted to send him back to Manchester United.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Manchester
\n\t\tFormer Man City boss Pep Guardiola (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAsk Metro<\/p>\n

Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about \u2013 powered by Metro and trusted publications.<\/p>\n

Recalling his surreal night out with legendary managers Guardiola and Ferguson, Giggs said on Rio Ferdinand\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>: \u2018There\u2019s about eight of us, so he [Ferguson] sat me next to Pep, this was about, I\u2019m going to say about eight or nine years ago.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve gone to Pep and said, \u201cyou know, who do you like at Manchester United?\u201d, and he went, \u201cwell, who do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018So I went, David De Gea? He went, no. Luke Shaw? I was just like, no. He said the best player at Man United,\u00a0Marcus Rashford. He said he would take him tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Manchester
\n\t\tAlex Ferguson with Pep Guardiola in 2011 (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u2018And that just made me [think], what\u2019s Pep seeing in Rashford? And that was obviously when Marcus was playing as a centre forward.\u2019<\/p>\n

Giggs, one of the best players of his generation and an all-time legend at Manchester United, also revealed how he tried to persuade Elliot Anderson to join the club over the summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michael Carrick was keen to bring the England midfielder to Old Trafford but he ended up completing a stunning \u00a3116m move to Manchester City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Manchester
\n\t\tManchester City summer signing Elliot Anderson (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n

\u2018It was literally a few days before he went to the World Cup,\u2019 Giggs said, recalling an encounter with Anderson on a golf course while on holiday.<\/p>\n

\u2018I peppered him. He didn\u2019t know how to take it at first, and then he relaxed a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u2018But for the first four or five holes, we were literally crossing. And at the end of it, he went, \u201cwill you just leave me alone\u2026 will you just let me play my golf, please? You\u2019re in trouble!\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

Ferdinand then revealed he has also tried to convince Manchester United transfer targets to make the move.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s what I do when I see some players,\u2019 the former centre-back said. \u2018I don\u2019t care, you\u2019ve got to try all sorts to get these deals over.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s mad, though. Obviously, the price tag was crazy. And it\u2019s just like astronomical money. And\u00a0Man United\u00a0ain\u2019t got the budget to pay for that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Giggs is one of the most decorated footballers of all time, having won 13 Premier League titles, eight domestic cups and two Champions Leagues during his 24-year spell at Manchester United.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
\nFacebook<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Erling Haaland says Man City have new weapon in title race with Arsenal and Chelsea<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Chelsea legend Joe Cole makes Champions League prediction and snubs Arsenal<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: Max Allegri makes Arsenal Champions League claim ahead of Napoli clash<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\tComment now<\/p>\n

\t\t\tComments
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\tAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source
\n\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t