picture: Paul Scholes

Paul Aaron Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English footballer who plays for Manchester United as a midfielder. He is a one-club man, having spent his entire professional career with Manchester United.

Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being spotted by a scout at his school. He made his debut for United in the 1994–95 season and made 17 league appearances. He went on to play a key part in Manchester United's Treble-winning season. Scholes has since gone on to win nine Premier League medals and a second UEFA Champions League.

Scholes represented the England national team from 1997 to 2004, participating in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup, as well as UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004. Scholes has amassed over 120 bookings in all competitions during his career and has been sent off ten times.

Scholes has made over 650 appearances for United, the 4th highest number of appearances by any player for the club. In June 2010 Scholes announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2010–11 season.However, a month later, Scholes announced he may continue beyond the season if he has a good campaign and is "doing the job the manager wants".

On 15 September 2009, Scholes scored his first Champions League goal since netting the winner against Barcelona in the semi-final a year and a half ago. He netted the solitary goal in the 77th minute away to Beşiktaş, giving Manchester United a winning start to their 2009–10 European campaign. On 3 November 2009, Scholes hit his second goal of the campaign, again coming in the Champions League. This time he scored the second United goal in the 3–3 draw with CSKA Moscow, which was another headed goal.On 5 December 2009, Scholes scored his first league goal of the season and his 99th Premier League goal overall, hitting the first in a 4–0 away win at West Ham.On 27 January 2010, Scholes hit his first goal of the new year and his first in the League Cup for seven years in a 3–1 win in the Manchester derby. He hit the opener in United's semi-final second leg against Manchester City, eventually winning the game 4–3 on aggregate.On 16 February 2010, Scholes hit his third Champions League goal of the season against Milan in a 3–2 win; it was also United's first ever away goal against Milan. This gave United their first ever away win over Milan and also made Scholes the first ever player to score against both Internazionale and Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League. On March 6, 2010, Scholes became the 19th player in Premier League history to score 100 goals and also the third United player after Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney to do so in the 2009-10 season, netting the only goal in a 1–0 win over Wolves at Molineux.On 16 April 2010, Scholes signed a new one-year contract with United, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010–11 season. On 17 April 2010, Scholes scored a last minute winner against rivals Man City, giving United a 1–0 win and the perfect way to celebrate signing a new contract just the day before. This also gave him his second derby goal in the last two games against their city rivals.Scholes began the 2010–11 season strongly, displaying Man of the Match performances against Chelsea in the 2010 Community Shield on 8 August and eight days later in the opening fixture of the new league campaign against Newcastle United as he assisted two goals in a 3–0 home victory.Scholes netted his first of the season when he opened the scoring in a 2–2 away draw against Fulham on 22 August, which took him to his 150th goal for Manchester United. Scholes' bright start to the season was rewarded as he was awarded the Premier League Player of the Month for August. In April 2011, Scholes was sent off for a high challenge on Pablo Zabaleta in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City; Manchester United went on to lose the fixture 1-0.

Scholes made his international debut against South Africa in 1997 in a 2–1 friendly win at Old Trafford, and was included in the England squad for the 1998 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. Picking up a pass from Paul Ince just outside the Tunisian area, Scholes pushed the ball slightly to his right and hit a shot with his right foot which curled into the top right-hand corner of Tunisian keeper Chokri El Ouaer's net.

His international career continued after England's elimination from the World Cup by Argentina on penalties 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 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 now-demolished 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. However, after the tournament, Scholes saw his opportunities in the national team decline due to Sven-Göran Eriksson playing him out of position on the left midfield to accommodate the pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in central midfield.

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.In July 2006, following Eriksson's departure, there was talk of Scholes making himself available for international duty again under new manager Steve McClaren, but nothing ever came of it.In May 2010, McClaren's successor Fabio Capello approached Scholes about a return to international football in the run-up to the World Cup in 2010, but the player rejected the offer saying he'd prefer to spend time with his family.On 7 June 2010, Scholes revealed had Capello given him more time and had asked earlier then he would have probably taken the opportunity.On 27 July 2010, Scholes then revealed his disappointment in not taking the opportunity to play at another World Cup, saying he may have made a mistake.