The Salford born midfield genius has been widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation. His vision, silky and cut-through passes as well as his thunderous goals helped him create a reputation as a player to be reckoned with.
As a member of the famous class of 93 alongside David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers (Phil and Gary), Scholes made his debut for the red devils during the 1994/95 season. Just like Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, Scholes spent the entirety of his career at Old Trafford.
Scholes spent 19 plus years at his boyhood club and made 718 appearances in which 499 were league appearances. Scholes made an impact with his goals, timely tackles, and defence-splitting passes.
Three years after making his debut for United, Scholes made his debut for the Three Lions in a friendly match against South Africa at Old Trafford. He made 66 appearances for the England national team and scored 14 goals in the process. He participated in two World Cup (1998 and 2002) and Euro campaigns (2000 and 2004).
Scholes was an integral part of the Ferguson era and as he won 6 major honours with the Red Devils which include 11 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 2 Champions League titles, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.
His discipline off the pitch was praised by his managers as well as his peers. However, on the pitch, Scholes was a menace as his tackling style was not loved by many. Scholes picked up a record 97 yellow cards in the Premier and that placed him third behind Lee Bowyer and Kevin Davies who had 102 and 101 respectively.
Scholes had a lot of admirers in the world of football which includes opposition managers and players. Zinedine Zidane, Pele, Socrates, Marcello Lippi, Edgar Davids, Xavi, Andrea Pirlo and many more have all spoken about how Scholes is a complete midfielder who can pass, tackle and score goals. Most importantly, Scholes could pull the strings.
