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His football skills were described as "a thing of beauty" in court - but Ryan Giggs admitted he was a "liar" and a "love cheat" off the pitch.

Details of the former Manchester United star's private life were laid out during his trial last year, as jurors heard a string of foul-mouthed messages he sent to his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville.

He admitted being "jealous" and "hot-headed" on occasions during his six-year on-off relationship with the PR executive and would turn up unannounced at her home, workplace and gym during their break-ups.

However, after a month-long trial, the jury failed to reach verdicts over domestic violence allegations - and now a retrial planned for later this month has been abandoned after the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew the charges.

There are now questions over whether Giggs has been left with an "indelible mark" on his reputation following the revelations during the trial - and how he will be judged in the "court of public opinion".

At the time of his arrest in November 2020, Giggs was manager of the Wales national football team as he aimed to guide them to their first World Cup in 64 years.

The former footballer was also lauded as one of Manchester United's greatest-ever players, a key member of the historic 1999 treble-winning squad and the club's all-time record-appearance maker.

But while he was known for his footballing ability, Giggs admitted during his trial that he also had a "reputation for infidelity".

His own defence barrister Chris Daw QC said Giggs "fully accepts that his behaviour, on a moral level, was far from perfect".

'Quite a public affair'

Giving evidence at the trial, Giggs said he had been unfaithful in all his past relationships and his reputation as a "love cheat" was justified.

The 49-year-old said he had "quite a public affair" while with his ex-wife Stacey, although he did not divulge any further details about this to the jury.

Giggs has never publicly commented on widespread media reports alleging he had a long-running affair with Natasha Lever while she was married to his brother Rhodri.

He also hit the headlines in 2011 when he was granted an injunction banning the media from naming him over allegations of an extramarital affair with former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.

Giggs agreed at his trial that he was a "flirt by nature" and he was unable to "resist" if an attractive woman showed him interest, regardless of his marital status.

He also admitted that his relationship with Ms Greville - who he met in 2013 - started as an affair when they were both married to other people.

Giggs and his ex-wife Stacey - who have two children together - divorced in 2017 after 10 years of marriage.

'The Final Goodbye' letter

The trial heard Ms Greville discovered evidence that Giggs had "full-on" affairs with eight women during their relationship.

She told the court that the discovery of messages "going back years" on his iPad prompted her to decide to leave him.

Ms Greville wrote a letter titled "The Final Goodbye" which detailed his alleged infidelities, three days before Giggs was accused of headbutting her at his home, jurors heard.

In the letter, Ms Greville described Giggs as a "compulsive liar and serial cheat", telling him: "My gut always told me you couldn't be trusted.

She named women called Helen, Zara, Natalie, Suzie and Kelly, and accused Giggs of "sending dirty messages about threesomes" with Charlotte.

She also claimed the "other women" have "husbands and kids".

'It's been extremely emotional'

Ms Greville told Giggs she knew about a woman called Steph, accusing them of having a "full-blown affair in 2014" which "carried on the whole time you were seeing me".

The letter also detailed an incident of Giggs "sh**ging someone else" when he was supposed to be picking Ms Greville up.

One name was redacted when the letter was read to the court.

Ms Greville signed off the letter saying: "Goodbye Ryan, it's been extremely emotional."

Her friend, who was shown the letter, messaged her saying it was "better than watching Jeremy Kyle", the court was told.

Giggs' reputation for infidelity was also known among his neighbours, his trial heard.

Linda Cheung said that when Giggs knocked on her door wearing his slippers on the night of the alleged assaults, after Ms Greville had accused him of seeing other women, her initial remark to him was "Oh Ryan, not this again", in response to the cheating claims.

Explicit messages

Among more than 19,000 messages exchanged between Giggs and Ms Greville, the court heard several in which he used explicit terms against her.

They included an email Giggs sent to Ms Greville with the subject title "C***!!!" and a text in which he suggested she was an "evil, horrible c***".

Asked why he referred to Ms Greville as "c***" in the email, Giggs said: "I was emotional and there was no excuse for my language."

The court heard Giggs wrote one message in a capital letters asking her if she was "f* dating" a man called Rob, adding: "If you are you finished. End of."

During cross-examination, Giggs admitted he was "threatening" Ms Greville in the message and he would consider it "bullying".

Ms Greville also found a message on Giggs' phone in which he had written: "Just waiting for the bars to open and we can get some cl****", the court heard.

Ms Greville described living with Giggs during the COVID lockdown as "utter hell" and said they would argue over how she loaded the dishwasher.

However the footballer insisted it "wasn't a big argument" and that he had called a "team meeting" over the issue, with his daughter and her boyfriend also living with them at the time.

"I would be opening the dishwasher and the tablespoons would be the wrong way round," Giggs said.

"It would wind me up because I would have to do it again, so I called a team meeting and just said, 'Everyone, can you please put the tablespoons the right way round'.

"It wasn't a big argument, it was just how I explained it."

Raunchy poems read in court - with Giggs' mother sitting in room

With Giggs' mother Lynne sitting in the public gallery of the courtroom, the trial heard details of intimate love poems exchanged between Giggs and Ms Greville - including one in which he said she made him "as hard as a totem pole".

In August 2017, Ms Greville messaged Giggs saying: "You make my heart flutter because you are a nutter.

"Every day you do me proud not just because you are well endowed."

The next day Giggs wrote: "My darling Kate, unequivocally our love was fate,

"I fell in love with you at first sight, I remember coz I was high as a kite,

"Those beautiful eyes made me shiver,

"I'm not gonna lie I think of you, I dream of you,

"Can't help thinking pulling you was my greatest ever coo,

"That stomach, those abs, those pictures you send so I can keep tabs."

Giggs went on: "You make me feel funny down there especially when you're there and you look up and stare.

"I'm beginning to think you are always right, that's ok it will keep us tight,

"I'm gonna end by saying you are my love my friend and my soul,

"And most of all you believe in me, which makes me feel as hard as a totem pole."

'You are the jam in my doughnut'

Another poem written by Giggs to Ms Greville on New Year's Eve 2017 said: "G is for gorgeous, R is for radiant, E is for extraordinary, V is for vivacious, I is for idolised, by me, L is for legs, L is for legs, E is for everything I've ever wanted."

Giggs also wrote: "You are the jam in my doughnut, the truffle in my pasta, the salt in my tequila."

Poems written by Ms Greville to Giggs were also read to the court, including one which said: "You make my heart skip a beat. I even love massaging your feet."

She also wrote: "Counting down the days. I'm thinking of all of the ways I'm going to make that gorgeous c*** of yours raise."

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'An indelible mark on his reputation'

While Sir Alex Ferguson was among the witnesses to defend Giggs in court, sports PR expert Andy Sutherden said many would argue the former footballer's reputation has been left "in tatters" by the trial.

He told Sky News last year: "It's important to understand that the only place more intimidating than a crown court is the court of public opinion and his morals and his infidelity have been washed, spun and hung out to dry in a very, very public way."

Mr Sutherden said it could be argued that "an indelible mark" has been left on Giggs' reputation which is "something that he still has to deal with".

However, he added that there is "road to retribution" for the ex-footballer by showing "humility".