Paul Scholes lifts the lid on how close Man Utd was to leaving his European rivals

As one of the best players of his generation, it was inevitable that Manchester United legend Paul Scholes would attract the interest of the best European clubs.

But if the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Juventus ever sniffed it, the midfielder who spent his entire career as a player at United never noticed.

As far as is known, only one club came for the former England star, and he was not interested in leaving the team that he considered the best in the world.

“I never found out that any team came for me,” Scholes, arguably the best English midfielder of his time, said in an interview with BBC Sport.

“I received a phone call from an agent, Bryan Robson’s former agent, called me while we were away at Euro 2000 to ask if I would be interested in going to Inter Milan, but that was the only phone call I had.

“I never heard anything after that and the manager never said anything to me.”

Scholes was a member of the Class of 92 who went on to form the backbone of a United team that dominated English football for two decades under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

In 20 years with United, Scholes won 11 Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and two Champions Leagues, as well as the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup.

He lived the dream at the club he supported as a child, during the most successful era in his history, and the only way he was leaving was if Ferguson no longer wanted him.

“I was playing in my childhood club, it was a boy from Manchester, we were winning trophies all the time,” Scholes said.

“If the coach told me he doesn’t love me, I would definitely have gone if there was a great club abroad that loved me, but there was never a need to think about Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid or AC Milan because he was in the biggest club in the world. world anyway. “

Scholes was a member of United’s triple-win historic team in the 1998-9 season, when they won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

And although the 45-year-old has an enviable trophy, his only regret is that United did not conquer Europe more often.

Scholes said: “We didn’t win as many Champions Leagues as we should, but we were as good as those teams, if not better.”