RAGING Ryan Giggs headbutted his girlfriend after abusing her for three years — and sending texts threatening: “I am so f***ing mad . . . I am scaring myself. I could do anything”, a court heard yesterday.
The Manchester United legend and former Wales manager, 48, is on trial accused of assaulting his ex-partner Kate Greville, 38. He denies all charges.
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Giggs battered her when she when she tried to leave their “toxic” relationship, the court heard.
The Manchester United legendis accused of headbutting former partner Kate after sending texts, including one: “I’m so f***ing mad…I could do anything.”
Giggs is alleged to have attacked her as she packed her bags because “he had once again been cheating on her”.
The former Wales manager is also accused of kicking her in the back and throwing her out of a hotel suite naked after she accused him of flirting with other women.
He also tried to blackmail Kate with threats of sending intimate pictures to her friends and work colleagues when she tried to leave him, it was said.
And in their bust-up at his £1.7million mansion in Worsley, Gtr Manchester, he also elbowed her sister Emma in the jaw when she attempted to wrestle him away from Kate, the court heard.
The jury was told yesterday how Giggs, whose lawyers could call on former manager Alex Ferguson and ex-teammate Gary Neville for their defence, was “idolised” for his skills on the pitch — but behind closed doors had “a much uglier and more sinister side.”
He is charged with coercively controlling Kate between December 2017 and November 2020 during “an endless cycle of emotional and physical abuse”.
Giggs also faces a charge of assault causing ABH when he allegedly butted her in the face as she tried to end the relationship — leaving her with a bruised lip.
He is accused of assault against her sister Emma the same evening when she tried to intervene.
During repeated attempts to leave him, Giggs would fire off texts aimed to “erode any sense of self-worth”, it was said
On one occasion, he is said to have sent an attachment with the header “Blackmail”. The prosecutor read from another message titled: “LIES, LIES LIES.”
It said: “Only an evil, horrible c*** does that.” It goes on: “I simply cannot believe you f****** did that. I am so f****** mad right now and I am scaring myself because I could do anything.”
He added: “I actually hate you the way you’ve done to me. Hate you. Hate, hate, hate.”
In others he begged: “Please unblock me. All this blocking malarkey is poo. Promise no more naked piccies. FYI, I’m where I drop you off x.”
During a stay at London’s five-star, £750-a-night Stafford Hotel, he kicked her in the back, threw her out of the suite naked and lobbed her bag at her when she accused him of flirting, the court heard.
Opening the case, Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told jurors at crown court in Manchester: “He is, you may know, a former professional footballer of considerable repute. In his heyday he played locally for Manchester United and internationally for Wales.
“He was idolised and still is by his adoring fans and supporters.
“On the pitch his skills were abundant and a thing of beauty. Off the pitch in the privacy of his own personal life, at home behind closed doors there was, we say, the facts in this case reveal a more uglier and sinister side of his character.
‘Litany of abuse’
“We say it was a private life which involved a litany of abuse, both physically and psychologically of a woman he professed to love, a woman he was in a relationship with and treated her in a way that cannot be excused or overlooked by either adoring public or the law.
“This is a story of control and coercion of a woman who thought she was loved and respected — sadly the reality was very different.”
He went on to accuse Giggs of “gaslighting” Kate before she finally decided to end the relationship on November 1, 2020 — when Giggs is said to have “lost control” and headbutted her. The pair had been together with pals at Manchester’s Stock Exchange Hotel that evening when she went back to the house they shared to pack up her belongings.
The prosecutor said: “Eventually, after years of turbulence, when the scales fell from her eyes, she realised she needed to remove herself from his sphere of influence.
“She knew the defendant had once again been cheating on her.
Only an evil, horrible c*** does that.” It goes on: “I simply cannot believe you f****** did that. I am so f****** mad right now and I am scaring myself because I could do anything.
Ryan Giggs
“In advance of her return home she informed her sister by text message of her plan.
“She intended to make her departure before he got back from the hotel. The plan did not work.
“As she was vacating the defendant’s home address, he came back and began arguing with her and trying to stop her leaving.” The prosecutor said she took his phone as a “bargaining chip” to try to persuade him not to prevent her from going.
A heated argument followed and Giggs then attempted to grab her phone, which was later found on a fence post in the garden of the property, said Mr Wright.
In the altercation that followed they grappled on the floor before Kate’s sister stepped in, the court heard.
Mr Wright said: “Emma tried to pull the defendant off her sister. For her pains the defendant, we say, deliberately elbowed her in the jaw causing her discomfort and shock that he would turn violence on to her as well her sister.” The argument between Giggs and Kate is then said to have moved into the kitchen.
Mr Wright said: “At that stage, we say, the defendant entirely lost self-control and he deliberately headbutted Kate, thereby causing swelling to her lips and bruising.
“Emma then called the police, who attended the premises.”
Mr Wright said it was Giggs’s claim that the headbutt incident was an accidental “clash of heads”.
The prosecutor also told the jury he would give a “snapshot” of the nature of the relationship between Giggs and Kate, a woman more than ten years younger than him. She would block him on social media but he would then email her instead, it was said.
This is a story of control and coercion of a woman who thought she was loved and respected — sadly the reality was very different.
Peter Wright QC
Giggs is accused of threatening to send images of her “of a personal nature” to her friends unless she did what he said.
He physically threw her and belongings out of an address they were staying at after Kate challenged him about another woman, it was said. Giggs would allegedly harass Kate with messages including some to her friends and turn up “unwanted” at her house or her gym.
‘Obsessive behaviour’
Mr Wright added: “This was not an expression of love, this is obsessive behaviour by him.
“This was a manipulative, toxic, damaging relationship by a man upon a vulnerable woman.
“We say it was a deliberate course of conduct by him, calculated to gaslight her into doubting herself and her instincts, to wear down any resistance she may show to him and his behaviour to make her pliant and compliant.”
Mr Wright also said of their relationship: “It became plain, contrary to his protestations, she was not the only woman in his life. She terminated the relationship.
“He pursued her, asking her to reconsider their relationship and eventually it recommenced for her to discover he was seeing someone else.
This was a manipulative, toxic, damaging relationship by a man upon a vulnerable woman.
Peter Wright QC
“She went to Dubai and took her employment there, he followed her by both messaging her and physically going to Dubai seeking to renew the relationship. On her return to Manchester the relationship resumed.”
Giggs’s barrister made a shorter opening statement on behalf of his client, who denies all charges.
Addressing the jury of seven women and five men, Chris Daw QC said that although the couple behaved like “squabbling teenagers”, there were lines Giggs would “never cross”.
He added: “He never once used unlawful violence against Ms Greville during the course of their relationship, no matter how bad things got.
“His defence to the assaults is simple. Those accusations are based on distortion, exaggerations and lies. He assaulted no one.”
Giggs stood down in June as manager of the Wales national team following a period of leave since November 2020 after his arrest.
During his time at United, he bagged 13 Premier League titles plus winner’s medals for two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and three League Cups. He won 64 caps for Wales and is co-owner of League Two side Salford City.
The trial continues.
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