Which superstars did Scholesy dream of playing with?
Paul Scholes played with some of the greatest footballers of the modern era during a glittering career with United and England, but which legends does he wish he'd been able to link up with?
That was the question put to the Ginger Prince during the latest episode of the MUTV Group Chat.
And, while Scholesy was quick to praise the superlative team-mates he worked with for much of his 19-year career, he did mention a pair of stars that he would have loved to work with.
Scholesy jumps on the Group Chat Video
Scholesy jumps on the Group Chat
Paul Scholes joins our MUTV panel to discuss Bruno Fernandes and some big names he’d love to have played with…
“I'll say one or two,” said the 45-year-old. “Probably [Andres] Iniesta – sensational. He could go past players, could control games, as Xavi could as well. It's difficult to choose between them.
“And as a midfield player I always liked to link with a no.10. I think Zidane, as a no.10, playing with him would have been special. But throughout my career, I played with amazing no.10s and amazing players, so it was never something I craved, but in a fantasy world I suppose it'd have been nice to play with Zidane and Iniesta.”
Scholes played 718 times for the Reds, and his first introduction to European football was a Champions League game against Barcelona in October 1994.
But it was 15 years later the Catalans really impressed the man from Middleton, when Pep Guardiola put together a sensational side that would twice beat United in Champions League finals.
That team – based around Lionel Messi and a midfield triumvirate of Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets – and the Real Madrid outfit of the early 2000s are the ones that stick most readily in Scholes's imagination.
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The genius of Paul Scholes
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“If you think of that Barcelona team, with that midfield, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, and the Real Madrid team we played against, it was unreal,” he went on.
“Figo, Zidane, Brazilian Ronaldo – what a player. There's so many players you could mention. It's virtually impossible [to choose].”
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The respect between Scholes and the players mentioned appears to be mutual. The internet is littered with memes bearing quotes about our former no.18 that are alleged to come from Xavi, Zidane and other greats.
And even though Scholes is not sure they are all genuine, he is happy to think they might be.
“It's nice to get praise from these types of players, of course it is,” he admitted. “These were the best players in the world at the time. These were winning leagues in their own countries, they were winning Champions Leagues, World Cups, European Championships. These were the very best of the best.
“You see loads of quotes from these players, [but] nobody's actually proven that they've actually said it! But if somebody's made them up, I'll take 'em!”
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