Ryan Giggs or David Beckham. If you can only pick one, who would you choose?
This is the question GiveMeSport has put to fans, and, at time of writing, the poll figures are a little more surprising than you might think.
In fact, the poll ended with 33% of fans voting for Giggs whilst 67% went with Becks’.
Polls like this always cause a lot of debate and you will be hard-pressed to find someone who agrees with your verdict one-hundred-per cent.
In the case of Giggs or Beckham, there must be factors taken into account here; for example, Giggs remained at Manchester United his entire career and up to the age of 40, scored in every domestic campaign since his debut.
Giggs swapped his football boots for a manger’s suit and tie back in 2014 after having amassed 672 appearances and 114 goals for the ‘Reds’ during a professional playing career spanning over two decades. To this day, Giggs remains United’s most decorated player.
Beckham, on the other hand, has played for several clubs during his career – Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, LA Galaxy; before finally retiring at the age of 38 at Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 in a professional playing career spanning 21 years.
Giggs, it could be argued, was the more technically gifted of the two; he had the ability to keep the ball close to his feet and weave in and out of opponents with relative ease, whereas Beckham was known for his dead-ball style of play which saw him able to curl in beautiful crosses as well as inch-perfect free-kicks.
Beckham, at times, was seen more as a commodity due to his celebrity status, however, his ability to dig deep when it mattered was evident – his free-kick against Greece back in 2002 speaks for itself.
Beckham was always capable of pulling something special out the bag, whether it be his momentous goal from the by-line or his heroic performances in the ‘treble of ‘99’ – you would always want him in your team.
Giggs was arguably the more consistent of the two, being an ever-present on and off the pitch and a ‘Red’ through and through.
His most momentous and encapsulating goals perhaps came in the 1999 FA Cup match against Arsenal in which we saw Giggs go on a remarkable solo run, culminating in both a stunning goal and celebration to boot.
The fans will certainly have their say but the debate will go on for a considerable amount of time longer, one can imagine.