18 January 2023 , 13:08
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When you think of what Roy Keane was like on a football pitch a few choice words spring to mind: leader, winner, aggressive.
Paul Scholes, on the other hand, doesn't evoke such intense description. The shy, ginger lad from Salford went about his business in a slightly different way from his red card-collecting colleague.
Scholes largely kept his head down, avoided speaking to the media where possible and instead did his talking on the football pitch where he won 11 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and three League Cups, cementing himself as one of Manchester United's greatest ever products.
The impact Scholes had on United was arguably only truly recognised after his retirement when a stream of revered footballers heaped praise on one of England's greatest talents.
It has always appeared that the midfielder's quiet personality was the reason his ability and influence largely went under the radar, but his former Red Devils teammate, Keane, has contested this suggestion, revealing the real Scholes was a different man behind closed doors.
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Writing in his autobiography, The Second Half, Keane provided a brief but intriguing insight into what he made of the Englishman, saying: "Scholesy was a top, top player but I still don't fall for the boy next door image. Or that he's dead humble. He has more of an edge to him. Everyone thinks he lives in a council flat."
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Sir Alex Ferguson said Paul Scholes was very shy when he first met him (Daily Mirror)Scholes spent his entire career playing at the very top at Man United, but in order to do so, he had to develop the "edge" that Keane speaks of, especially considering Sir Alex Ferguson's damning initial opinion of him.
Writing in his autobiography in 2013, Ferguson recalled his first meeting with Scholes in which he rubbished his chances of making it as a professional.
"I will always remember Paul Scholes' first day at our club," wrote Ferguson. "He came in with a little guy called Paul O'Keefe. His father, Eamonn, had played at Everton. They were standing behind Brian Kidd, who had told me he was bringing in two lads, he liked the look of.
"They were 13. 'Where are these two young kids?' I asked Brian. They were so small they were invisible behind Brian's frame. They were about four feet eight inches tall. I looked at this tiny pair and thought; 'How are these two going to become footballers?'
"It became a standing joke at our club. When Scholesy came into the youth team, I said, in the coaches' room: 'That Scholes has got no chance. Too small.'"
Scholes would go on to prove Ferguson wrong, showing the United dressing room he indeed had the grit and determination to play at the highest level, while never truly abandoning his shy and humble image.