Paul Scholes will go down in Manchester United's long and successful history as one of the all-time greats, but it could have ended very differently after he refused to play for the club.
The former England international, who spent his entire career at Old Trafford during a 21-year stay, enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the great Sir Alex Ferguson.
In total, he won 25 trophies for his boyhood club, including 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.
That being said, Scholes has admitted that he was lucky not to be sold after being left out of a game against Liverpool.
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In an interview with former teammate Gary Neville, he spoke about the incident.
"I don't know why I did what I did in 2001, but it is something I really regretted doing," he said.
"I wasn't in a great mood. I had been left out the Liverpool game the previous weekend and I knew that the team going down to Arsenal in the cup was basically a reserve side.
"I just got a bee in my bonnet that I wasn't happy with things.
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"I had my reasons but it was stupid really. I ended up getting fined and having to apologise, but I was lucky. The manager would have been within his rights to get rid of me."
Despite that refusal to play in 2001, Scholes was never tempted to move away from Old Trafford.
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In fact, the midfielder turned down advances from Inter Milan in the early 00's, with former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti once detailing the lengths he went to tempt the former England international.
"We tried really hard to sign Paul Scholes," Moratti said.
"We gave Manchester United a blank cheque. We talked to him and his reply was: 'If you want me to play for you, you'd have to buy this club'.''
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Featured Image Credit: PATopics:ย Paul Scholes, Football, Manchester United, Premier League
