The former Manchester United midfielder said he confided with then Everton player Phil Neville when he came out of retirement - a conversation that almost paved the way for a move to Goodison
Paul Scholes speaks on the Stick to Football podcast
Paul Scholes speaks on the Stick to Football podcast
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Paul Scholes said he considered joining Everton when he made his shock comeback from retirement. The 11-time Premier League winner initially quit football in May 2011 - only to decide to make a return the following season after starting the campaign training and coaching with Manchester United's under-23s.
After making the U-turn he confided in former Man United teammate Phil Neville, who said he would raise the prospect of Scholes joining him at Everton with manager David Moyes, then in his first stint with the club.
A move to Merseyside did not follow because Sir Alex Ferguson leapt at the opportunity to reunite with midfielder when he told him of his desire to play again.
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Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast with former footballers including his old Man United team-mates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, Scholes said he would have considered a move to Everton had Ferguson not offered him a new deal.
The playmaker spent the first half of the 2011-12 campaign working with Man United’s U23s when he decided he wanted to re-start his playing career.
He explained: “I trained [with the reserves] and loved it. I was 36/37 but I got to Christmas and felt as fit as anything.
“Then I went to watch a first-team game and I think it was Fabio da Silva and maybe Phil Jones in midfield, we got beat by Blackburn at home… I felt like playing again.
“I didn’t mean for United, I just meant playing, I thought I need to go back playing.”
Scholes said he spoke to close friends in the game, including Man United’s assistant manager Mick Phelan and another former team-mate, Ryan Giggs.
Mikel Arteta Everton vies with Paul Scholes of Manchester United during the Premier League football match at Goodison Park in Liverpool, 15 September 2007. Photo: ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images
Mikel Arteta Everton vies with Paul Scholes of Manchester United during the Premier League football match at Goodison Park in Liverpool, 15 September 2007. Photo: ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images
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On the podcast, he told Gary Neville he would not have played abroad and it was then that he revealed he also turned to Gary’s brother Phil Neville, then plying his trade at Goodison Park, for advice.
He said: “I actually spoke to your Phil and I think Phil had spoken to David Moyes… Look, I don’t know if it would have ever happened but I would have because I had just got the bug back for training all the time and felt fit, so I thought I might as well play.
Shocked, Gary responded: “Wow. Phil keeps a secret.”
Scholes then told Ferguson of his hope of playing again - immediately leading the manager to start talks on a new deal.
He made his return, then 37, in an FA Cup win over Manchester City in January 2012 and the following season lifted his final title before retiring for the second time.