Ryan Giggs enjoyed a romantic date night in Manchester with his girlfriend Zara Charles on Friday.

The couple were invited to attend the extravagant opening night for the new restaurant and bar Cibo.

Lingerie model Zara, 35, wore a black top and trouser set, enhanced with black high heels and a black bag.

She completed her look with a tan-coloured trench coat with black detailing and held hands with Ryan, 50.

Ryan wore a double-breasted black jacket with a white T-shirt and black jeans and black, red-bottomed shoes.

It comes after the couple, who began dating in 2021, also spent Easter together.

They ventured out for brunch in leafy Cheshire over the bank holiday weekend, little more than a day after his former club labored to a dour 1-1 draw against Brentford.

Ryan has returned to work as Director of Football at Salford City, the club he co-owns, while appearing on the after-dinner circuit after being cleared of assaulting former girlfriend Kate, 37, in 2023.

He was facing charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over an alleged headbutt on Kate, plus further counts of coercive or controlling behaviour against her and common assault against her sister Emma.

But, in a 10-minute court hearing, the prosecution offered no evidence and Judge Hilary Manley said: ‘I formally enter not guilty verdicts in respect of each of the three counts.’

Chris Daw KC, defending Ryan, said his client is ‘deeply relieved the prosecution has finally come to an end after almost three years in which he’s been fighting throughout to clear his name’.

The barrister added: ‘He has always been innocent of these charges – there’s been very, very many lies told about him in court.’

It was then revealed how the case began to fall apart when Kate said she did not want to testify due to the effects of the process on her ‘mental and physical well-being.’

However lawyers for Ryan said he ‘did not buy’ her reasoning, insisting the prosecution was put off by new information uncovered by the defence.

This included a cosmetic procedure to have lip fillers on or around the day of the alleged headbutt and several days before she was pictured with apparently swollen and bruised lips as a result of the alleged attack.

Chris said his client was ‘looking forward to rebuilding his life and career as an innocent man’.

Jurors had failed to reach a verdict following an original, 11-day trial last year, after 22 hours and 59 minutes’ deliberations.

The decision not to go ahead was revealed during the short pre-trial review hearing at Manchester Crown Court in August 2023, with neither Ryan nor Kate in attendance.

Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, said the original trial over the alleged assault at Ryan’s home in November 2020 was ‘a process that has taken its toll’ on PR consultant Kate and her sister.

He said Greville had ‘indicated an unwillingness’ to give evidence in a re-trial as doing so in the first had ‘taken its toll’ on her and her sister.

Wright said: ‘This is not a decision taken lightly.’

He said there was no realistic prospect of conviction on count one, that of coercive and controlling behaviour, and it was no longer in the public interest to proceed to prosecute on the other charges of assault on Ms Greville and her sister.

He added: ‘That being the case, we formally offer no evidence on counts one, two and three.’

Judge Hilary Manley replied: ‘I formally enter not guilty verdicts in respect of those counts.’