Paul Scholes was one of England’s greatest players - but the Manchester United midfielder hated playing for his country.
Scholes confessed his aversion to international football when he sat down for a cup of tea with United’s Power Development coach Mick Clegg just before he told Sven Goran Eriksson he was no longer available for selection in August 2004. Both Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello tried to persuade the United playmaker to come out of retirement.
But Clegg knew that Scholes’ heart would not have been in it after a chat with the Salford-born midfielder over a strong cuppa. Clegg, who spent 11 years with United, recalled: “I had a kettle in the gym so that I didn’t have to keep nipping up to the canteen for a brew.
“Scholsey was always telling me to put the kettle on and one day we were having a chat about the Euros that summer. He said he hated playing for England, which came as a bit of a shock. I asked him why he kept turning up and he said ‘well it’s England, that’s what you have to do.’ Paul was worried about the reaction he would get from the rest of the country if he stopped playing for England.
“I asked him if he’d ever felt the same way playing for his school team or with his mates or for United - and he said that was different. He loved that. I told him that he was being bullied into doing something that went against his own instincts. Not long afterwards, he packed in international football. Was it down to our chat? I don’t know because we never spoke about it again.
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“I know he didn’t like being away from home. He was always a family man and he didn’t want to be away from his wife and kids. If you go away with England and you’re not happy then you’re not going to perform at your best on the pitch.”
Scholes is now revered around the world as being one of the most complete exponents of the midfield art. He should have won more than 66 caps after Glenn Hoddle gave him his debut against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1998. A succession of England managers failed to get the best out of him like Sir Alex Ferguson did for United.
Mick Clegg: The Power and the Glory is published by Reach Sport.
