Paul Scholes: ‘Kobbie Mainoo amazes me. It’s almost like poetry in motion’
Former Manchester United midfielder on why teenager reminds him of Zidane, the buzz of working at Salford and his pending Old Trafford return
“I’m not sure you can train it – I think it’s just in you,” Paul Scholes says of the fundamental qualities that made him the most decorated English footballer: calmness and composure. Those asking after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat last month where the country’s Rodri, Modric or Kroos was, could just as easily have wondered: “Where is our Scholes?”
Well, the midfield past master is here, at a special free school in Stretford, Greater Manchester – like the one his son, Aiden, attended – learning how the funds from a charity match will help. He’s wiping a mild sweat off his brow after playing football with a class of kids. And here he is, eulogising Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United’s young midfielder who many believe could fulfil that role the triumphant Spaniards call pivote.
