“Was frightened to the death” - Manchester United legend Paul Scholes recalls incident when Sir Alex Ferguson told him ‘you’ll never play' again

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes recalled an incident when legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he would never play for the Red Devils again. Scholes is considered among the greatest United players of all time, having played for them throughout his professional career (1993-2013).

Paul Scholes came through the ranks at the Manchester United youth academy and was promoted to the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson. The Englishman made 716 appearances for the Red Devils across competitions, contributing 155 goals and 82 assists. He led the club to 25 trophies, including two UEFA Champions League titles and 11 Premier Leagues - the second-most of all time.

Scholes retired temporarily in 2011 and became a Red Devils coach. However, he returned to the pitch to represent Manchester United for the 2012-13 season, before permanently hanging up his boots in 2013.

In an interview on The Robbie Fowler Podcast, Paul Scholes recalled an incident when Sir Alex Ferguson was angry at him for his performance in a game against Newcastle United. The legendary manager angrily told the midfielder he would never play for Manchester United again. Scholes recalled (via TBR Football):

"I remember one at Newcastle, when Newcastle were a really good team. He left me out, we were 3-0 down and he brought me on with 20 minutes to maybe, 3-0 down. We got it back to 3-2, I’m not saying it was anything to do with me, made two chances, made two goals, but nothing to do with me."

He continued:

"Anyway, got it back to 3-2, we were flying, creating chances. I tried a back flick in the middle of the pitch on the halfway line, they broke away and I think [Alan] Shearer scored, that made it 4-2. We got it back to 4-3 and then in the dressing room. I’m walking in thinking I made a difference in that game, I did okay."

Scholes remembered how Sir Alex Ferguson was not pleased with his performance and gave him the hairdryer treatment.

"I had a couple of chances where I should have scored, but he went ballistic at me. ‘You’ll never play for this club again’ and all that type of stuff because I made that mistake on the halfway line," the Englishman said.

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Paul Scholes narrated how Sir Alex Ferguson apologized to him for his words at Manchester United

Scholes and Ferguson (third and fourth from the left) - Source: Getty

In his aforementioned interview on Robbie Fowler's podcast, Paul Scholes also explained how Sir Alex Ferguson apologized to him for his angry comments. Scholes said that the Scottish tactician came up to him soon after to apologize.

“He said ‘I’m sorry, I realised you did make a difference in the game, what happened after the game was an overreaction. I’m sorry, we’ll just get on with it’. That was the quality of the manager. If he thought he’d made a mistake, he’d quickly rectify it," the former England international said.

Sir Alex Ferguson is unarguably the greatest Manchester United coach of all time. He has led the Red Devils to 13 Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League titles, and five FA Cups among other honors. Manchester United last won the league in the legendary manager's final season at the club, 2012-13.