Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has been named in court for the first time as the Premier League footballer behind an injunction against The Sun.
The former Wales player agreed to lift the anonymity gagging order in a hearing at the high court in London on Tuesday.
Giggs bought the gagging order in April last year to prevent the tabloid from publishing allegations that he had an extra-marital affair with glamour model and former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.
But the footballer's identity was flouted by thousands of users on Twitter at the time and Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming named him via parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons.
Mr Justice Tugendhat said: "Anonymity no longer applies and has not applied since 1 February," reported The Guardian.
On the pitch, Giggs is set to complete another milestone at Norwich City's Carrow Road this weekend:
Tugendhat is however considering a claim filed by Giggs for damages in relation to The Sun's alleged misuse of private information. He also seeks an injunction to restrain any future publication of private information.
The court heard that the anonymity order that prevented the media from naming Giggs was lifted on 1 February. However, an "administrative error" by Giggs' solicitors meant that The Sun was not informed.
Tomlinson told the court on Tuesday that Giggs had "suffered damage and distress" due to the claims of philandering.
Publishers of The Sun, News Group Newspapers, appointed counsellor Richard Spearman QC, to inform the court that the Welshman's damages and injunction claim should be thrown out as it was "dead in the water".
Giggs is the most decorated player in British football history, having won 12 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and two European Cups. In 2009 he was named the Professional Footballers' Association's player of the year and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year eight months later.