After weeks of gossip, alleged affairs and even his Manchester United contract in question, Ryan Giggs has another thing to worry about - his sponsors falling back due to his tainted image.

The troubled footballer's rocky past weeks due to his extramarital affairs have been causing him much controversy, and it seems he's about to pass through a huge bump once more. Brand Rapport expert Nigel Currie has branded Giggs as the 'next Tiger Woods', with the possibility of his major sponsors backing out because his "clean- cut family man" image has gone out the window. Giggs is currently under a £20m sponsorship with Reebok, a deal with Cyma, Swiss timepiece creators Patek Philippe, Saudi Telecom and carmakers Citroen. After news of golfer Tiger Woods' affairs broke out, his major sponsors Accenture and Gilette dropped him from their bills and the same thing might happen to the footballer.

Currie says Giggs might be the British version of the American golfer, whose life had a complete turnaround after news of womanizing spread. He mentions Giggs should be worried, because top companies, especially his sponsors, don't like this kind of press associated with their brands. "What he had going for him from a marketing perspective was his seemingly clean-cut personal image", says Currie in a report posted at the UK Telegraph. "Once that image goes, he's likely to find his whole unique selling point has gone, too" adds the branding expert in the same report.

Just recently, news of Giggs' relationships aside from Imogen Thomas broke, including an illicit affair with the wife of his brother Rhodri Giggs. The Manchester United midfielder will file a suit against social networking site Twitter for allowing users to mention his name during the time his gagging order is in effect. Giggs' wife Stacey is said to be "supporting" her husband, but her reaction towards news of his new affairs are yet to be stated.

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