Giggs expects emergence of 'big five'

Ryan Giggs has admitted English football may have to start talking about the big five rather than its traditional big four.

Manchester City gatecrashed the elite quartet in spectacular style on Monday, spending a British record £32.5million on Brazilian superstar Robinho, and with the vast wealth of the Abu Dhabi-based United Group for Development and Investment behind them, Giggs feels it will be very interesting to see how the situation unfolds.

"You just have to appreciate the money they have got," Giggs told Key103.

"Signing Robinho is a big statement to football as a whole because he is a world-class player.

"With the amount of money they have got to spend, the next few years will be interesting and we will just have to wait and see what happens."

Although many clubs, such as Newcastle and Tottenham in recent times, and Leeds beforehand, have spent big without achieving the type of success supporters envisaged, Chelsea are the obvious example of immense wealth bringing trophies.

Yet even Roman Abramovich suffered a false start at Stamford Bridge, firing Claudio Ranieri for not winning major trophies quickly enough, and Giggs does not believe the new-look City will be an overnight success either.

"You can't just buy a team - you need stability and a base to work from," he said.

"But obviously major money can be a big influence because it means you can bring quality to your team."

"Having worked with Mark Hughes as my manager (at Wales) and had him as a team-mate, I know what he is all about. It won't faze him. He is a very good manager."