Clubs: Manchester United FC

• Born as Ryan Wilson, in Cardiff, he moved to Manchester at the age of six and signed for United on his 14th birthday; changed his surname to that of his mother after his parents split.

• Made his first-team debut at 17 in March 1991 against Everton FC and was capped by Wales at the same age, becoming the country's youngest senior international; hailed at an early age as the 'new George Best' and soon became a fixture in the United side.

• Won his first Premier League title in 1992/93; landed domestic doubles in 1993/94 and 1995/96 and a famous treble in 1998/99, when United added the UEFA Champions League by dramatically defeating FC Bayern München at the Camp Nou.

• Played 64 times for Wales, scoring 12 goals, before prematurely withdrawing his services, after three years as captain, in 2007; like Best before him, however, he never paraded his talent at a major international tournament.

• Broke Sir Bobby Charlton's club record of 758 appearances when he came on as a substitute in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea FC in Moscow, while the following season he collected the PFA Player of the Year accolade and, in December 2009, the highly prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

• Surpassed Sir Bobby's club record of 606 league outings when he featured in a 3-1 loss to Liverpool FC on 6 March 2011.

• Excelled in United's run to the 2011 UEFA Champions League final, setting up all three goals in the last eight against Chelsea FC and scoring in the semi-final at FC Schalke 04 − ended the campaign with his 12th league championship medal after United surpassed Liverpool's record of 18 English titles.

• Collected another league winners' medal in 2012/13, Sir Alex Ferguson's final season as United manager. Joined the coaching staff of incumbent David Moyes in July 2013 and stepped up to assume player-caretaker duties for the final four games of the campaign after the former Everton FC boss was sacked.

• Announced his retirement on 19 May 2014, having scored 168 goals in 963 appearances for United, to take up a position as assistant to new manager Louis van Gaal.  

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: winner 1999, 2008; runner-up 2009, 2011
UEFA Super Cup: winner 1991
European/South American Cup: 1999