Paul Scholes

Early life

Scholes was born on 16 November 1974 in Salford, Greater Manchester. He is of Irish and Northern Irish descent. On his mother's side, his grandmother came from Ireland, while his grandfather was from Northern Ireland. The family moved to Langley, Greater Manchester, when he was 18 months old, where he lived on Bowness Road and Talkin Drive. He attended the St Mary's RC Primary School in Langley. The first team he played for was Langley Furrow. Scholes also excelled at cricket. At age 14, he began training with Manchester United. He later joined as a trainee upon leaving the Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School in Middleton during the summer of 1991. In his final term at school, he was selected to represent Great Britain National Schools in football.

Club career

Manchester United

Scholes was a member of the Manchester United youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in the 1992–93 season, alongside Phil Neville. Scholes turned professional on 23 July 1993 but did not make his breakthrough into the senior squad until the 1994–95 season, when he made seventeen league appearances and scored five goals.

His debut came on 21 September 1994, where he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Port Vale in the League Cup. His league debut came three days later against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, a game which United lost 3–2 and Scholes scored a consolation goal. He scored two league goals when he came on 10 December when United beat Queens Park Rangers 3–2 at Loftus Road. On 3 January 1995, he got onto the scoresheet at Old Trafford for the first time with the opener in a 2–0 league win over Coventry City. He scored once more that season, in a 3–2 away win over Coventry City on 1 May. Scholes came on as a substitute in the 1995 FA Cup final against Everton, which United lost 1–0.

In the 1995–96 season, after Mark Hughes moved to Chelsea, Scholes had more first-team opportunities, standing in for the suspended Eric Cantona as Andy Cole's strike partner for the first two months of the season. Scholes scored 14 goals in all competitions as United became the first English team to win the double twice. He picked up another Premier League medal in the 1996–97 season.

After Roy Keane suffered a knee injury in late September 1997 and was ruled out for the rest of the season, Scholes was made a central midfielder in the 1997–98 season. United finished the season without a major trophy, only the second time in the 1990s that this happened.

In the 1998–99 season, Scholes was a key player in Manchester United's Premier League title, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League treble success. He scored one of Manchester United's two goals against Newcastle in the FA Cup final. He also scored an away goal against Inter Milan in the Champions League quarter-final. He came on as a substitute in the second leg of the semi-final against Juventus as Alex Ferguson opted for Nicky Butt in the starting line-up. He picked up a yellow card which ruled him out of the final victory over Bayern Munich through suspension.

During the 1999–2000 season, Scholes scored one of the finest goals of his career against Bradford City on 25 March 2000. David Beckham took a corner directly to Scholes, who was standing on the edge of the area, who volleyed it in over Dwight Yorke, who was forced to duck. A week later, Scholes scored the first hat-trick of his United career against West Ham United in a 7–1 victory that put United ten points clear.

Royton Town

In August 2018, Scholes briefly came out of retirement from football at the age of 43 and played a match for his son Arron's team, Royton Town of the Manchester Football League Premier Division, against Stockport Georgians. Royton lost the fixture 1–0. Scholes made two further appearances for Royton Town, once against Poulton in the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield, and in the reverse league fixture against Stockport Georgians.

International career

Scholes made four appearances for the England national under-18 team, all of which came in 1993, scoring one goal. He scored from a penalty kick on his debut for the team on 30 March 1993 in a 4–2 win over Denmark in a friendly at the Victoria Ground. He was part of the England team that won the 1993 UEFA European Under-18 Championship, which was hosted in England. Scholes played in three of England's four matches at the tournament, including the final on 25 July in which England beat Turkey 1–0 at the City Ground.

Scholes made his debut for the England senior team on 24 May 1997 as a 63rd-minute substitute against South Africa in a 2–1 win at Old Trafford in a friendly. He scored his first goal for England on his full debut on his second appearance, in a 2–0 win over Italy on 4 June at the Stade de la Beaujoire in the 1997 Tournoi de France. He was included in the England squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. England were grouped with Colombia, Tunisia and Romania. During England's first World Cup group match against Tunisia, Scholes sealed a 2–0 victory with a goal late in the game.

His international career continued after England's elimination from the World Cup by Argentina after a penalty shoot-out in the first knock-out round. On 27 March 1999, Scholes managed a hat-trick for England in a game against Poland. In addition, Scholes scored both goals in England's 2–0 win at Hampden Park over Scotland in the UEFA Euro 2000 play-off first leg, sealing a 2–1 aggregate win and qualification for the finals tournament. In a qualifier against Sweden that June, Scholes became the first and last England player to be sent off in an international match at the old Wembley Stadium.

With the turn of the century, Scholes became a prominent player in England's midfield, becoming a first-choice selection for the 2002 World Cup. Immediately prior to Euro 2004, however, Scholes was played out of position on the left midfield to accommodate the pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in central midfield, starting on the left for the last five matches of his international career. Scholes announced his retirement from international football in August 2004, citing his family life and his club career with Manchester United as being more important.

Following the departure of England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in 2006, there was speculation regarding Scholes making himself available for international duty again under new manager Steve McClaren. In October 2006, McClaren said that he had personally asked Scholes twice to rejoin England, but Scholes declined. In May 2010, McClaren's successor Fabio Capello approached Scholes about a return to international football in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, but Scholes again rejected the offer, saying he would prefer to spend time with his family. On 7 June 2010, Scholes stated that if Capello had given him more time and asked earlier, he would have probably taken the opportunity. On 27 July, Scholes expressed his disappointment in not taking the opportunity to play at another World Cup, saying he may have made a mistake.

Player profile

Style of play

Scholes was highly regarded for his technical skills, and renowned for his accurate passing, intelligent movement and powerful shooting from long range. Though he played mostly as a striker in his youth and early professional career, Scholes matured into a well-rounded, tenacious, and versatile playmaker capable of playing in any midfield position, often alternating between defensive, offensive, wide and playmaking roles, due to his stamina, vision, work-rate, and positional sense. Scholes was renowned for his late attacking runs and ability to combine with teammates, as well as an excellent capacity to read the game and control the tempo of play, which enabled him to function in a deep-seated creative role as well as in a box-to-box role in the centre of the pitch. He played in the centre for much of the earlier part of his career, while he was instead deployed in a deeper role in the later part of his career. Scholes possessed an extraordinary range of passing and frequently initiated dangerous attacking plays after winning back possession.

In an interview with FourFourTwo, Scholes admitted to not being blessed with notable pace or dribbling skills, and attributed his calmness and ability to retain possession under pressure to having a sharp brain, excellent awareness, and good link-up play. He was also used in a more advanced creative role on occasion, as a deep-lying forward behind an out-and-out striker. At international level, he was also occasionally used out of position on the left flank.

Scholes received criticism for his discipline, particularly regarding his tackling, which was questioned as frequently inept by multiple pundits, fans and Scholes himself. In addition, the potential for malicious intent in some of his tackles was raised, and it has been suggested that he escaped greater censure due to the admiration that many have for the rest of his game. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger criticised Scholes' tackling, stating, "For me he was not a fair player. There's a little bit of a darker side in him, sometimes, that I did not like. I respect him highly as a quality player but I did not like some things he did on the football pitch." Scholes said in an interview that he was not a bad tackler, but that, "If someone got me early in the game, it was always in the back of my mind that I needed to get them back", and suggested that the bookings he received towards the end of his career were influenced by his reputation.

Reception

Many of Scholes' peers, including Ronaldinho, Andrés Iniesta, Luís Figo, Edgar Davids, Arjen Robben, Patrick Vieira, Juan Sebastián Verón, Deco and Xabi Alonso, have spoken about their admiration for his talent. Some of his former teammates, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer, have rated him as the best player they have played with. His former managers, Glenn Hoddle and Sven-Göran Eriksson, have named him as the best or most talented player they coached.

In November 2004, when former Brazil midfielder and captain Sócrates was asked for his views on the English game he replied, "...I think of Paul Scholes. He's good enough to play for Brazil. I love to watch Scholes, to see him pass..." Former England midfielder and Manchester United captain Sir Bobby Charlton commented, "Paul is always so in control and pin-point accurate with his passing – a beautiful player to watch."

When former Real Madrid midfielder and France captain Zinedine Zidane was asked who was his toughest opponent, he replied, "Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation." In 2009, Barcelona forward and France captain, and former Arsenal captain Thierry Henry said, "Without any doubt the best player in the Premiership has to be Paul Scholes. He knows how to do everything, and he is the one who directs the way his team plays. On top of that, he has indestructible mental strength, and he is a genuine competitor."

Several former teammates including Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney have revealed his nickname in the Manchester United dressing room was 'SatNav' (an abbreviation of Satellite Navigation) due to the accuracy of his long-range passing.

In February 2011, Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi rated him as the best player in his position in the past two decades commenting, "A role model. For me – and I really mean this – he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years... He's spectacular, he has it all: the last pass, goals, he's strong, he doesn't lose the ball, vision. If he'd been Spanish he might have been rated more highly." Former Juventus midfielder and Italy captain Andrea Pirlo selected him as the only English player in his dream Champions League XI and commented, "You could see every pass, every decision, was based on his intelligence and understanding."

Football ownership and coaching career

In 2014, it was announced that Scholes, along with fellow Manchester United legends Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, and Phil Neville, had agreed a deal to purchase Salford City ahead of the 2014–15 season. with plans to get the club to the Football League. The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing a Class of '92 team. On 22 September, the group agreed to sell a 50% stake in the club to billionaire Peter Lim.

Having previously informally helped out Nicky Butt with the Manchester United under-19 team during the first half of the 2013–14 season, Scholes agreed to join the United first-team coaching staff on a temporary basis after the dismissal of David Moyes until the end of the season as a favour to friend and former teammate Ryan Giggs, following the latter's appointment as interim player-manager on 23 April 2014.

In January 2015, Scholes and Phil Neville were caretaker managers of Salford for a 2–1 win over Kendal Town, between the dismissal of Phil Power and appointment of Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley.

On 19 November 2017, Scholes and his old teammate, Ryan Giggs, were invited to join in training works for PVF Football Academy in Vietnam. With Ryan Giggs, who was chosen to be a development director, Scholes worked as a technical advisor.

On 11 February 2019, Scholes was appointed as manager of League Two club Oldham Athletic, having been cleared to take the position by the English Football League in light of his ownership of Salford City. On 14 March, Scholes resigned as manager, having won one of his seven games in charge, following interference from club owner Abdallah Lemsagam in first-team affairs.

On 12 October 2020, Scholes was appointed interim head coach of Salford City, following the departure of Graham Alexander. Scholes' first game in charge was a 1–0 defeat to Port Vale on 17 October, and he quickly ruled out taking the position on a permanent basis, citing the need for a more experienced manager. His first win came three days later with a 3–0 win against struggling Southend United. Scholes left the role on 4 November, following the permanent appointment of Richie Wellens to the post.

Outside football

Media career

In July 2014, Scholes became a pundit after signing a four-year deal with BT Sport. He would also be featuring on ITV's coverage of Champions League and England internationals. Scholes previously made an appearance for Sky Sports as a pundit during the 2013–14 season. In August, he agreed to become a columnist for The Independent. Scholes has been praised for his passionate and no nonsense style of punditry.

In October 2025, Scholes announced that he had left commentary, in order to accommodate the need for routine for his 20-year-old autistic son.

Endorsements

Scholes featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series. He was on the cover for the international edition of FIFA 2001, and was named in the Ultimate Team Legends for FIFA 17.

Scholes has endorsed sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".

University Academy 92

Along with other United players who won the 1992 FA Youth Cup, Scholes has proposed a university in Greater Manchester, named University Academy 92, which would offer "broader courses than traditional degrees" and attract students who "otherwise might not go on to higher education".

Personal life

Scholes is asthmatic, and suffered from Osgood–Schlatter disease (a knee condition that affects young athletes). He married his childhood sweetheart, Claire (née Froggatt), in Wrexham, Wales, in February 1999. They live in the village of Grasscroft in Greater Manchester, and have a daughter and two sons, the younger of whom has autism. His daughter Alicia Scholes is Netball Superleague player and member of the England national netball team. In 2020, Scholes and his wife separated, and shared custody of their disabled son.

His off-field personality is said by some to be in stark contrast to the attitude of the stereotypical professional footballer. In an interview given before Euro 2004, Scholes described his ideal day as "train in the morning, pick up my children from school, play with them, have tea, put them to bed and then watch a bit of TV".

Roy Keane once highlighted that Scholes did not like the "celebrity bullshit" side of professional sports. With regard to his shunning of celebrity, and instead keeping to his intention to solely focus on doing his job ("a professional footballer"), Keane applauded Scholes after his retirement.

Scholes is known to enjoy betting on football. In June 2019, he was fined and warned over his future conduct by The Football Association (FA) after placing bets worth £26,159 on matches during his time as a director of Salford City. At a tribunal, he was found to have placed 140 bets over three and a half years, in contravention of the FA's gambling rules. The FA fined Scholes £8,000 and asked him to contribute to the costs of the tribunal.

Career statistics

International

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Scholes goal

Managerial statistics

As of 4 November 2020

Honours

Manchester United

Premier League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

FA Cup: 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04; runner-up: 1994–95, 2004–05, 2006–07

Football League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10; runner-up: 2002–03

FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield: 1996, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2010

UEFA Champions League: 1998–99, 2007–08; runner-up: 2008–09, 2010–11

Intercontinental Cup: 1999

FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

England U18

UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1993

Individual

Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 1992–93

Manchester United Goal of the Season: 2006–07

Premier League Player of the Month: January 2003, December 2003, October 2006, August 2010

PFA Team of the Year: 2002–03 Premier League, 2006–07 Premier League

Premier League 10 Seasons Awards Team of the Decade: 1992–93 to 2001–02

English Football Hall of Fame: 2008

Premier League 20 Seasons Awards Fantasy Team: 1992–93 to 2011–12