Ryan Giggs admitted that Wayne Rooney, Ji-sung Park, Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick aided his switch to a central midfield position towards the end of his career.
The Manchester United legend made his name as a lethal left-winger, but then moved infield in a bid to prolong his playing days — allowing Giggs to play until he was 40.
And the Welshman, who played with some greats at Old Trafford including Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Peter Schmeichel, name-checked the four players who proved perfect teammates late in his career.
"The last five or six years of my playing career were probably the most enjoyable," he revealed in an interview with The Coaches' Voice. "I loved moving into a more central role. You’re involved in the game more, you have more options, the pitch opens up.
"At United, I had energy all around me. Wayne Rooney dropping in, Ji-sung Park on the left, Patrice Evra up and down, Michael Carrick next to me.
"I was lucky in that respect, but I was also lucky in that I had always been able to dribble. In midfield, that can be a great asset if there isn’t an obvious pass on. You remember someone like Paul Gascoigne, who could get on the ball in midfield and take players on, and I had that in my armoury too.
"The more I came inside, the more I developed, but I also spoke a lot to my teammates – in particular Michael Carrick. He liked to get the ball off the back four, so I would stay out of his space and instead move into that half-position and look forward."
Giggs took a role on United's backroom staff at the end of his playing career, before moving full-time into coaching. He's now preparing to lead Wales into Euro 2020 as manager.
