Few players ever got the upper hand on Paul Scholes during his storied Manchester United career. However, the legendary midfielder has opened up about being “destroyed” by a former teammate during one of his first training sessions with the senior team.
Now combining media duties with his role as Salford City’s head of recruitment and co-owner, Scholes is preparing for a pivotal moment in the club’s history: a League Two clash against Manchester City.
The upcoming game brings back a flood of memories for Scholes, who spent nearly two decades as a vital cog in Sir Alex Ferguson’s most successful squads.
Salford’s first team now trains at Littleton Road, but for Scholes, this ground holds a special place in his heart. It’s where he honed his skills alongside his fellow Class of ’92 teammates. Recalling his early days, Scholes admitted that training with seasoned professionals often served as a humbling experience.
“I love Littleton Road,” Scholes told The Telegraph. “That’s where it all began. So many memories. It’s where you made the jump through the ranks.
The building is almost the same, the pitches are unchanged, and every time I’m there, I picture us jogging around—Peter Schmeichel leading the pack, followed by Bryan Robson, Dion Dublin, and Andrei Kanchelskis.”
Scholes vividly remembers one of his first sessions with the senior team. “I was about 17 and asked to play left-back,” he recalled.
“The club had just signed Andrei Kanchelskis, and he came over as the first team didn’t have a game. I wasn’t a left-back, and we didn’t know much about him at the time, just that he was a flying winger. He destroyed me—I couldn’t handle him!”
The dream of progressing to the first team was ever-present for Scholes. “When you were with the under-18s, you’d always sneak a look at the first team on the other pitch and think, ‘That’s where I want to be.’ Then you make it to the reserves and aim higher—‘I want to be with the first team.’”
Scholes fondly remembers his first shooting practice alongside legends like Jim Leighton, Mark Hughes, and Bryan Robson. “All of a sudden, you’re rubbing shoulders with your heroes.
They were tough but fair. It’s the same thing we did when younger players like Paul Pogba or Jesse Lingard came through. You welcomed them, but if their attitude wasn’t right, you set the standards.”
Kanchelskis went on to win two Premier League titles with Manchester United, but for Scholes, the lessons learned during those early days shaped the trajectory of his remarkable career.