Paul Scholes

Paul Aaron Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 appearances between 1993 and 2013. He is widely regarded by pundits, managers and other former players as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is also considered to be one of the greatest Manchester United players of all time. Scholes came through the Manchester United youth academy as one of Fergie's Fledglings, a group of players recruited by Manchester United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson. Scholes made his full debut for Manchester United in the 1994–95 season. He went on to make 718 appearances for the club, the third-highest number of appearances by any player for the club. Scholes announced his retirement from playing in May 2011 and was appointed as a coach at Manchester United. He returned to playing in January 2012, and played one more season for the club before retiring again in May 2013. With Manchester United, Scholes won 25 trophies including 11 Premier League titles (more than any other English player) and two UEFA Champions League titles. Scholes represented the England national team from 1997 to 2004, gaining 66 caps and participating in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, as well as the UEFA Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 tournaments. 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. Scholes' first managerial position was at Oldham Athletic, for 31 days in February and March 2019. In 2020, he had a short spell as interim manager of Salford City. Over his career Scholes has received praise from various players and managers, including Pelé, Zinedine Zidane, Xavi, Thierry Henry and Pep Guardiola. Scholes was named in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02) Domestic and Overall Team of the Decade. In 2008, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. In February 2018, FourFourTwo ranked Scholes 22nd in their list of 101 greatest footballers in the last 25 years since their first edition in summer 1994.