Paul Scholes has identified two Manchester United teammates he found challenging to play with during his time at Old Trafford.
Having emerged from United’s youth academy as part of the renowned ‘Class of ’92’, Scholes initially retired in 2011. However, after a year away from football, he accepted Sir Alex Ferguson’s invitation to return for the 2012/13 season, ultimately securing his 13th and final Premier League title.
Throughout his tenure at Old Trafford, the iconic midfielder faced off against some of the greatest football talents of his era, including Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney. His fellow ‘Class of ’92’ members, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, remained at United for the entirety of Scholes’ first career phase, just as he did, spending their entire professional careers at the club.
Nevertheless, Scholes has candidly expressed that there were only two players he did not particularly enjoy partnering with on the pitch. In a conversation with Gary Neville on The Overlap Xtra, he shared that he preferred to play in midfield alongside teammates who were less focused on attacking, as he often found it difficult when paired with Juan Sebastian Veron or Anderson.
He explained: “I played with Nicky Butt, I played with Roy. Michael Carrick. I loved playing with all of them.
“It wasn’t great playing with people who [were] attacking people. I needed someone who played that position really well.”
“I think me and Anderson did it once. Just, no, it’s not working, is it?
“Just two lads who don’t care about defending, don’t know the [defensive] position that well. But it worked better with a Michael or a Roy or a Nicky.
“They were brilliant playing that position, they knew. I didn’t know the position that well. I didn’t play in the position that well, as you know.”
Neville replied: “Someone like Veron, you mean?”
Veron made history in English football by becoming the most expensive player when he transferred to Manchester United from Lazio in 2001 for a sum of £28.7 million. However, his tenure at Old Trafford, lasting two years, was largely marked by challenges as he found it difficult to adjust to the demands of English football. His true potential began to emerge after he made the switch to Chelsea.
Now at the age of 50, Veron remains active in the football world, serving as the president of his former club, Estudiantes, in Argentina.
In contrast, Anderson retired from professional football in 2019 and took on the role of assistant manager at the Turkish club Adana Demirspor. He received the Golden Boy award in 2008 shortly after joining United, but over the course of seven seasons, he became a more peripheral figure and departed the club in 2015.
In his autobiography, Rafael, a former teammate at United, provided insight into why Anderson did not reach the heights expected of him in the football world. “When given a football, he played with remarkable freedom,” Rafael noted. “If he had a consistent run of matches, he could perform at the level of the best players in the league. Moreover, when he was in form, our team played exceptional football.
“However, he suffered numerous injuries, and his dietary habits began to take a toll on his performance. It was no coincidence that his peak performances coincided with periods of regular play, as that was when he was less likely to overeat.”
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