Former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley has admitted that he was "jealous" of how good former team-mate Paul Scholes was during his career.
Cleverley, now at Watford, rose through the youth ranks at Old Trafford, becoming a first-team regular, before joining Everton in 2015. During his seven years as a first-team player at United, the midfielder was fortunate enough to play with some of the Reds' most famous players of all-time.
The likes of Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Scholes all played alongside Cleverley, teaching him unrivalled qualities from a very young age. However, he left United, joining the Toffees seven years ago to secure more regular first-team football.
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Now applying his trade at Watford alongside fellow former United man Ben Foster, who played a key role in denying the Reds all three points when the two sides met at Old Trafford on Saturday, Cleverley has described Scholes as the best player he has had the privilege of playing with during his career. He has also named Rooney as his favourite player to have played with.
"Wazza was my favourite player," Cleverley told Ben Foster - The Cycling GK. "He had tenacity, he worked his socks off for someone who had so much ability and I remember watching his free-kicks in training [and being impressed].
"The best player [I played with] was Scholesy. I am sure everyone says the same thing.
"I used to go home and actually be jealous about him and how talented one man could be. I was jealous."
Scholes, who is now often a pundit on BT Sport, will go down as one of United's greatest players of all-time. Making more than 700 appearances for the club, he won a plethora of trophies during his Reds career, including 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns.
Rooney, meanwhile, will also go down as one of United's all-time greats, with his talent making him one of the most-loved players of his generation. Now in charge of Derby County, the former striker also enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles amongst others.
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