Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has revealed the only footballer he asked to swap shirts with during his illustrious playing career. The former midfielder doesn't appear to be too fond of footballing memorabilia, but there was a good reason he desired a rival's shirt.
Xavi, Pep Guardiola and Thierry Henry are three of many icons of the game who have waxed lyrical about Scholes and suggested he was the cream of the English midfield crop during his playing days. He was a wonderful playmaker who made 716 club appearances for United, winning 25 major trophies, including 11 Premier League titles.
Scholes would be one of the most popular shirt choices for any young Red Devil supporter's bedroom wall during his era. But his son Arron wasn't only a fan of his father but also of another Premier League hero, whose shirt he managed to get hold of.
Paul Scholes On Swapping Shirts With Premier League Icon
Roy Keane and Paul Scholes
Roy Keane and Paul Scholes
Scholes sat down with former club and international teammate Nicky Butt and presenter Paddy McGuinness on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. The two members of United's Class of '92 were asked about swapping shirts:
"We were never really one for swapping shirts were we? I did it once for Arron. Arron liked Thierry Henry, so I got his and asked him to sign it for Arron."
Scholes discussed following his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson's rules regarding swapping shirts and added:
"We would never ask anyone would we? Thierry Henry was the only one I ever did. But, other that, no, I would never ask. If someone come to me 'can I swap?' yeah of course no problem."
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Scholes met Henry in some of the most famous title matches in Premier League history at the height of the United and Arsenal rivalry. The pair met 19 times, with the Englishmen finishing on the winning side eight times and on the losing side six times.
Henry lit up English football during his spell with the Gunners, a key man in Arsene Wenger's Invincibles team that claimed the title unbeaten in 2004.
The French striker bagged 228 goals and 101 assists in 377 club games for the North London giants, including nine goals in 23 games against United.
The two-time European Golden Boot winner may have been happy to swap shirts with Scholes given he was a huge fan of the English midfield maestro. He called him the Premier League's all-time greatest player in 2015:
"I would have to go Paul Scholes... I don't think people have given him the credit he deserves. He's one of the best, if not the best, I've played against, he could do anything."
Henry, for many, takes that honour because of his world-class ability to unlock defences with his pace and clinical finishing abilities. He claimed the Premier League's Golden Boot on four occasions while at Highbury.
Scholes and Butt Explain Ferguson's Shirt Swapping Rule
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt
Scholes wasn't the only United legend to get their hands on a member of France's 1998 World Cup-winning team's shirts. Butt revealed in the same conversation that he had been offered to swap shirts by a Ballon d'Or winner:
"I got a Zidane one."
When asked how:
"Luckily you bump into them don't you?"
Butt added:
"I've never asked anyone for a shirt ever. It was really weird in them days, we seemed to play Juve more than we did Arsenal. It was like always drawing them for some reason and always battering us. And he just shook my hand and went like that and I went 'yeah' and I took it off. He offered it to me, it was a final little slap on the ass."
It was a rarity for Ferguson's players to swap shirts unless offered the chance to do so by the opponent, as Scholes explained:
"I had (Andres) Iniesta's as well. And he asked me to swap. That's what I mean, we would never ask anybody. Thierry Henry is the only one I ever did. If someone comes and asks, 'Yeah, of course, ' no problem."
McGuinness asked why Ferguson didn't like it to which Butt replied:
"Didn't like it."
Scholes added:
"He used to make you pay for the shirt if you gave it away."
Scholes and Butt were part of a hugely successful United side that became one of the most decorated teams in English football history. They were also teammates at international level and came up against some of the world's football's biggest names, including the likes of Zidane, Henry and Iniesta.