Ryan Giggs leaves the field after making his 64th and final appearance for Wales. (Dave Thompson/Associated Press)

The list of top-class players who never played in a World Cup is long, but it includes Northern Ireland's George Best, Alfredo Di Stefano of Argentina, and Liberia's George Weah.

Welcome to the club, Ryan Giggs.

Earlier this month, Giggs played his 64th and final game for Wales, a 0-0 stalemate with the Czech Republic in a Euro 2008 qualifier, drawing to a close a disappointing international career that went unfulfilled.

That the Manchester United star didn't have the opportunity to showcase his skills on soccer's greatest stage is a shame, but it shouldn't undermine his status as one of the most talented players of his generation.

Toronto FC midfielder Carl Robinson had the pleasure of playing with Giggs in the Welsh national team for eight years, including Giggs' last game against the Czechs, and called the international retirement of the talented winger a "massive blow" for his country.

"There are not many words that can aptly describe Ryan because he's the best Welsh footballer there's ever been. You see him day in and day out in training - he's just on another level," Robinson told CBCSports.ca

Giggs, 33, hopes that by quitting the national team he'll be able to remain in top form for Manchester United as he enters the twilight years of his career - a move that did wonders for teammate Paul Scholes, who enjoyed his best campaign in many years this past season after retiring from the English national team in 2004.

"Ryan wants to concentrate on his club career. He's seen what it's done for his mate Paul Scholes and Scholes was outstanding this year and I think that's where he wants to go. You have to respect that," Robinson said.

Yes, you do have to respect that.

Giggs is a living legend, considered by many as the greatest player ever to tread the hallowed halls of Old Trafford.

The statistics more than back up that claim - Giggs has won a record nine Premiership titles, four FA Cups, two English League Cups, and one Champions League title with United. The Welsh wizard is also the club's longest-serving player, having made 716 appearances in all competitions since making his debut for the team as a 17-year-old during the 1990-91 season. Only Bobby Charlton (759 games) has made more appearances for United, a record Giggs is sure to break next season.

Statistics aside, Giggs brought a touch of creative genius to the game that few, if any, of his British compatriots ever matched.

Like the time he slalomed through the Arsenal defence in the semifinal replay of the 1999 FA Cup. With the score tied 1-1 in extra time, Giggs picked up possession in his half of the field and went on a mazy solo run, beating four Arsenal defenders (including Lee Dixon, Martin Keown and Tony Adams) before thundering a left-footed shot past goalkeeper David Seaman.

United went on to win the game - and the FA Cup - and Giggs' sensational strike was voted the greatest FA Cup goal of all-time.

In that one moment, fleeting and achingly brief, Giggs demonstrated great speed, vision, control, grace and elegance.

"You have players who are quick and can run and take defenders on and things like that. Ryan can do all of that but he's also got the football brains. For me he's just the complete all-around player," Robinson said.

The criticism of Giggs has always been that he was a reluctant member of the Welsh national team, that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson bullied him into skipping games for Wales.

While Giggs participated in World Cup and Euro qualifiers, critics accused him of always picking up a mysterious injury when it came time to play in less-than-glamorous friendlies. At one point, the Manchester United winger missed 18 consecutive exhibition games for the national team, leading to more scepticism about his commitment to Wales.

"Unfair," said Robinson, who called Giggs a "true Welshman through and through."

"There were times when Ryan turned up at the training camps for friendly games and just wasn't able to play because he was injured, but people don't see that, and instead they say, 'well, Ryan Giggs missed another friendly,'" Robinson explained.

"But he spent five days training with the lads being part of the team but couldn't play in the game, so the lads knew that if Ryan missed a game for Wales it was a valid reason. There were no doubts from the lads' point of view that the games he had to miss were for genuine reasons."

What's refreshing about Giggs is that unlike so many other Premiership stars, namely David Beckham, he shunned the spotlight and the celebrity that came with playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Instead, Giggs went about his business in a quiet and dignified manner, going to great lengths to keep his family and personal life private, which is why you never saw his named splashed over the front pages of the British tabloids.

What's more, he never let success go to his head.

"From when Ryan made his debut when he was 17, he has not changed one bit, and that's having won nine Premiership titles, the Champions League, FA Cups, international caps. He's still the same person as when I first met him and you have to applaud him for that," Robinson said.

He never played in a World Cup, but Ryan Giggs is a class act both on and off the field.