When Paul Scholes made his surprise comeback for Manchester United in 2012, he was mocked by his teammates for his choice of boots. The former England star, who was then 48 years old, had to buy a cheap pair of boots from JJB Sports as he couldn’t ask Nike for a new pair without revealing his comeback. Scholes revealed that he paid around £50 for the boots, which were the same as those worn by his teammates but were made of plastic.
Scholes said that he thought the boots were good and believed that they must be belters as he had paid £50 for them. However, when he started warming up on the pitch, his teammate Jonny Evans noticed that he was wearing plastic boots and asked if they were snide ones. Despite the mockery, Scholes said that the boots were alright.
The reason why Scholes had to buy a cheap pair of boots was that his comeback was a big secret, and Nike couldn’t send him a new pair without revealing his return. The news of his comeback didn’t get announced until the teams were announced at City in the FA Cup.
Scholes admitted that his comeback game was a disaster as Manchester United nearly threw away a 3-0 lead against rivals City. He said that he was absolutely bricking it when he came on and thought that he shouldn’t have come back. However, the rest of the season ended up okay, and Manchester United managed to win the league the following year.
In 2018, Scholes revealed more details about his comeback and the real reason why he retired for good. He said that he remembered the game itself and how Manchester United were 3-0 up when he came on against ten men. However, City managed to score two goals, and Scholes said that he was taking his gear off ready to come on when City coach David Platt asked him what he was doing. Scholes said that he had no idea and wished he hadn’t done it.
Scholes also revealed that he gave a bad pass for a throw-in, and Sergio Aguero nipped on to it and scored. The manager gave him another year, but Scholes said that he was gone. He remembered playing Tottenham at home and getting beat 3-2. He played alright in possession, but Mousa Dembele and Gareth Bale cruised past him. He wanted to retire early again that season but thought it would be embarrassing, so he stayed on.
Paul Scholes is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and has won the most trophies of any English player. He made over 700 appearances for Manchester United and scored 155 goals. He retired from football in 2013 and has since worked as a pundit for BT Sport.