Even with a record 13 league titles and countless other high-profile accolades in his staggering trophy haul, Ryan Giggs insists his Olympic experience has already offered something new.
For Giggs, it will finally fulfil the dream of appearing in a major tournament. English football's most decorated player never got closer than a couple of near misses with Wales.
"My career for my country has obviously been the total opposite to the one for my club," said Giggs. "I've been so successful with United but not so with Wales."
He added: "I would always watch the other lads, especially those ones I grew up with, go away on international tournaments and wish that I could do the same."
The 38-year-old Welshman has been named skipper of Team GB, who open their campaign in the familiar surroundings of Old Trafford when they take on Senegal on July 26.
And, unlike those who have rejected the tournament, purely on the basis of the British aspect of a sport traditionally split across the Home Nations, Giggs insists victory would rank alongside anything he has won before.
"I don't like to prioritise medals because every single one means something special," he said. "But of course, this would be different because you never thought you'd be competing in an Olympics. To win a gold medal would be special."
Some believe it would have been so different if Giggs had followed the route of his schoolboy career, when he turned out for England, in the misguided belief that path was open to him.
"There was a lot of confusion about the situation because I played for England Schoolboys," he said. "Then because of the problems England had on the left of midfield, people would say to me you should have chosen England. But I was never able to choose England."
Finally, Giggs gets his opportunity, albeit not in the situation he might have imagined. And before the competitive action starts, there is that little matter of Friday's friendly with Brazil at the Riverside Stadium.