Ryan Giggs believes there are comparisons between the present Manchester United squad and that of the one which claimed the 1999 Champions League final.

The Red Devils head into this year's final next Wednesday against Chelsea and Giggs believes the balance of youth and experience is none too dissimilar to that of the European champions of nine years ago.

Players such as Peter Schmeichel and Denis Irwin were the old heads when Sir Alex Ferguson guided his side to their first European title under his reign, and Giggs is now revelling in being the wise man of the set up.

"The young players have shown this season they can help the likes of me and the older players and vice-versa with the experience we've given to the younger players who maybe haven't been in certain positions this year that they've found themselves in," said the veteran on Setanta Sports News.

"We had a great squad in '99 and that was used during the season, similar to this year. The squad is not about 11 players, so there are similarities."