When Ronaldinho talks about the beautiful game, you listen. The man was a footballing know-it-all, capable of dancing around defenders with relative ease, and he once claimed that he wished to have the ability of a former England international, who never received a Ballon d’Or vote throughout his career.
Ronaldinho managed to get his hands on football’s biggest individual prize in 2005, finishing above Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and thus knows what it takes to be the very best. But that’s not to say he was perfect; and he’s well aware of that.
He may have turned out for the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain at the peak of his powers – but the one and only Ronaldinho was still envious of a talented Englishman’s ability to play a whole host of different passes: from the simple to the otherworldly.
Ronaldinho Admitted to Being Jealous of Englishman’s Talent
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As devastating as they come, the silky Brazilian encapsulated everything joyous about football – but even he, a maverick of the highest order, marvelled at the brilliance of Paul Scholes, who bossed the middle of the park with ease across a two-decade period, which was jam-packed with silverware.
Not the biggest, or stockiest, midfielder on the planet by any stretch of the imagination, Salford-born Scholes got the better of his opponents thanks to his enviable technical brilliance.
One of Scholes’ most notable strengths was his passing. Whether he was keeping it simple with a short, yet punchy, pass to a teammate or a 50-yard switch across the pitch, the affectionally monikered Ginger Prince was Manchester United’s go-to guy.
Manchester United Paul Scholes
And one-time World Cup winner Ronaldinho – who played against Scholes on three different occasions, twice at club level and once on the international stage – admitted to being jealous of the Old Trafford legend's passing ability. Per talkSPORT, he said:
“I want to pass like him. Who taught him how to do that?”
Although the Englishman was nominated for the Ballon d’Or on five occasions, it still remains one of football’s greatest mysteries as to how he never received a single vote. And that’s despite the array of praise he earned from his peers and opponents.
Scholes, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest passers in football history, spent the entirety of his career at Old Trafford with Manchester United, a club that nurtured him into one of the best engine room patrollers of the 21st century.
Initially, he hung up his boots in 2011 before making a dramatic return to Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad midway through the 2011/12 season. The following campaign, he helped them win a 13th Premier League title, and then he called it quits for good.
Scholes’ profile was relatively unique, and his earth-shattering strike against Barcelona gets better with every watch. The never-ending reels of his passing range, too, are the perfect encapsulation of what it’s like to watch a true master at work, doing what they do best.