Paul Scholes reveals ‘touchy’ Man Utd star wanted to meet him over recent criticism

Paul Scholes says he agreed to meet a Manchester United player over some criticism he made earlier this season, only for the ‘touchy’ star to ignore his offer.

United have endured yet another wretched campaign in the Premier League, with Ruben Amorim failing to steady the ship after taking over the reins from Erik ten Hag last November.

Sunday’s uninspiring goalless draw with Manchester City leaves United languishing down in 13th in the English top flight – just 18 points above the relegation zone – and the Europa League represents the club’s last remaining shot at saving the season.

Fans and former players alike have been vocal with their criticism of Amorim’s misfiring squad across the campaign, with legendary ex-United captain Keane recently calling Bruno Fernandes an ‘imposter’.

And after this weekend’s turgid Manchester derby, Keane suggested that both Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee were ‘not good enough’ to play for a club of United’s stature.

Scholes has, at times, been equally scathing with his comments, refusing to bite his tongue when he feels a player has fallen short of the level required at Old Trafford.

Asked if any players had ever had a go back at his remarks, Scholes told The Overlap: ‘Players can be a little bit touchy these days.

‘I had a player [who he later confirmed to be a Manchester United player], this year, who contacted me and wasn’t happy with some of the things I’d said.

‘He wanted to meet me at the training ground, and I said, “Of course, no problem”, and gave him my number but he never got back to me.

‘I would have done it. If I’m saying things I believe and he wants me to explain why, it wouldn’t have been a nice conversation.

‘But I said if they or anyone else has a problem, there’s my phone number.’

Now working almost exclusively on United matches, Scholes feels like ‘a bit of a villain’ having to criticise the club he represented for over two decades.

‘I only do Manchester United games now. I very rarely do other games because I want to watch United, and I want to be at the United games,’ the 11-time Premier League winner added.

‘Ever since I’ve started doing it, it’s not been great [United’s performances]. I don’t think I saw them win for a long time and you look terrible having a go at your club when that’s the club you played for, for 20 years – it’s the last thing you want.

‘It’d be so easy if you were a Manchester City player for the last ten years. Where we are now, it makes you look like a bit of a villain.’

Scholes never prepared for his next steps after bringing an end to his playing career in 2013, which he admits was a ‘mistake’.

‘I made a mistake, where at the end of my playing career I never prepared for anything. I never prepared to be a coach and never thought in a million years that I’d be doing punditry,’ he added.

‘I always thought that I’d do a little bit of coaching – I did go into it at first and did six months, but didn’t enjoy it that much. It takes over your life, it’s 24/7.

‘Then, Gary [Neville] asked me to do a game for Sky Sports, and the first one I ever did was the Manchester Derby and we got beat. I was nervous to do it, I was thinking about it for two days – Gary had asked me a few times and I didn’t want to do it.’

He continued: ‘I was just nervous about speaking and being critical about your own club. It isn’t nice.

‘Rio [Ferdinand] had a bit of a poor night, and I might have said a couple things about him. I didn’t realise, when I went into it, that for two or three days after the game, it’s in the papers and is repeated everywhere. For the first 10-15 games, I felt like I couldn’t do it, I didn’t like it.

‘You’ve got to have a certain way about you and some people can do it – be critical but have a nice way of doing it. I couldn’t do it.

‘People like Ally McCoist and Ian Wright, they give criticism but do it in a nice way with a big smile on their face, whereas I’m quite miserable so it always looks nasty coming from me.’

Scholes was famously reluctant to speak to the media and ‘hated’ being interviewed after games during his playing days.

‘I hated them. I really didn’t like having to do them, but it was something you had to do,’ he went on.

‘We used to have lessons and honestly, I couldn’t speak. We had a couple fellas from Radio Manchester and there were six or seven of us coming through – you’re in one room doing the pretend interview and the other lads are in the other room, probably laughing at me.

‘So, I couldn’t get anything out, a bit like now really, stuttering all the time. I absolutely hated it but with anything, you get used to it.’

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