Manchester United legend Paul Scholes admits he regrets early England retirement

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 12 April 2020

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes admits that he regrets retiring from England duty at the age of 29, but insists that playing on the left was not the reason.

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has admitted that he regrets retiring from international duty with England so early.

Scholes called time on his England career soon after Euro 2004 when he was just 29 - some nine years before he finally hung up his boots for good at club level.

The midfielder's deployment on the left rather than in the middle, where Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were preferred by manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, has widely been reported as the reason behind Scholes's retirement, but the United stalwart denied that was the case.

"I had a young family at the time and going away for England for 10 days at a time, sometimes six weeks in the summer, it just wasn't ideal and I wasn't enjoying it. I know a lot was made of Sven-Goran Eriksson playing me on the left-hand side of midfield but that was never the problem," Scholes told BBC Sport.

"My form in the last 20 or 30 caps wasn't quite good enough and Steven and Frank were two top-class players who he went with centrally. I was on the left but I played there many times for United and was quite successful there, scored a few goals so it was never really why I left England. It was just a personal choice.

"I do regret leaving England so soon. I went back to United and my football changed. I had been a player who was expected to score goals all the time for England, which I was judged on. Sir Alex Ferguson saw that he wanted me to play well into my 30s and I needed a different position. I moved back and controlled games from midfield, sitting deep, and I was never that player for England.

"I ended up playing there for five or six years and looking back playing there from 30-35 was probably the most enjoyable part of my career. I really enjoyed that position, I wasn't scoring goals but to sit back and control games, I really enjoyed it. I finished with England too early to progress in that position.

"I was tempted to come back, you'd hear whispers all the time but there was only the one time really officially. It was before the World Cup in South Africa, I'd played well that season and they were struggling with a few injuries. Fabio Capello wanted me to come back, I got a phone call from Stuart Pearce who was on the staff.

"I had a few days to think about it and I felt I was playing well enough, I just decided that it was wrong, I hadn't been involved in qualifying and there were other players who had been in the squad for two years, being away from their families. Capello didn't ring me, maybe if he had it might have been different. Maybe he could have twisted my arm. Is it something I regret? Probably I do because at that time I was playing really well."

Scholes retired having won 66 caps for England, whereas he made 718 appearances for United.