Giggs: I've felt different because of my mixed-race background

Former Manchester United star and current Wales manager Ryan Giggs says that he has felt "different" at times due to his mixed-race heritage, although he says he is "immensely proud" of his background.

Giggs' father Danny Wilson, a former rugby union player, is black, while his mother Lynne Giggs, is white, and the former Red Devils star says that he didn't experience anything that made him notice his own background until moving from Cardiff to Manchester due to his father's rugby career.

It was at that point that Giggs says he began to feel "different", especially since most people could not guess that he was mixed-race.

 "I didn't experience anything in Cardiff. I was seven, so I can't remember a lot before that. It wasn't until I moved to Manchester," he told ITV Wales.

"Where I lived, my dad was very well known, because he was such a good player. He was probably the best player in the team in that town.

"As you can guess, to look at me, you wouldn't think my dad was black.

"But obviously everyone knowing that was my dad, and my dad quite clearly being black, that's really when I sort of experienced the first time. Which was a bit weird, because I'd never experienced that before."

He added: "It was weird because when I was in Manchester there was no black people at my school. One or two. And obviously when I go back home I'm just surrounded by my dad's family.

"I loved it. There used to be a carnival every year down the docks, and I used to love going to that. It was just normal for me. It was great for me to have that diversity."

Giggs and his staff recently took a knee ahead of recent Wales matches as he wanted to show his support for the "important message" of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Wales began the international break with a 3-0 friendly loss to England before then drawing with Ireland and beating Bulgaria in Nations League matches. 

The Wales boss said the demonstration was done to make sure he reiterated that the country doesn't "put up with discrimination or racism", as he added that there was "no hesitation with myself and with my staff and with the team".