Staff : First team : Paul Scholes

You must have a rare and special football talent to impress the great Bobby Charlton. The United legend sums up Paul Scholes perfectly: "He’s always so in control and pinpoint accurate with his passing – a beautiful player to watch."

Part of the new wave of talent that ushered in Beckham, Giggs, Butt and the Neville brothers in the mid-1990s, Salford-born Scholes scored twice on his debut in the League Cup at Port Vale in 1994/95 – and on his first league outing against Ipswich – and hasn't looked back.

A host of golden seasons at Old Trafford include 1995/96’s Double-winning campaign, in which he covered admirably during Eric Cantona’s suspension, finishing second behind the Frenchman in the scoring charts with 14 goals; he was a cornerstone of 1999’s Treble-winners, although suspension ruled him out of the Champions League final, and in United’s most recent Premiership success in 2003, his 20-goal haul was vital. Neat and compact, a misplaced Scholes pass remains one of the rarest sights in football.

His current haul of 14 medals is bettered by only five players in the club’s history and, of those, only Ryan Giggs remains at the club. An eye problem kept the man the fans dubbed the 'Ginger Prince’ out of action for a large part of 2005/06, but the delight with which supporters greeted his return for the final game of the season against Charlton shows how close to their hearts he remains. Now in the top ten highest ever appearance makers and the top 12 highest goalscorers at the club, he is, indisputably, one of the finest talents in United's history.

Position: Midfielder
Appearances: 530
Goals: 137
Joined United: 08 Jul 1991
Transfer Fee: None
Previous Clubs: None
United Debut: 21 Sep 1994 v Port Vale (A)
International England