Paul Scholes shared his biggest career regret involving Sir Alex Ferguson after Inter Milan’s lucrative offer prompted him to seek a pay rise at Manchester United.
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has revealed that his “biggest regret in football” was not rejecting Inter Milan’s approach, but attempting to use the Serie A offer to negotiate a pay rise from Sir Alex Ferguson.
The midfielder, who spent his entire career at Old Trafford, opened up about the audacious proposal during an interview on The Overlap podcast.
Scholes confirmed that Italian giants Inter made a lucrative salary offer around the time of Euro 2000, which greatly surpassed his earnings at United.
“I was 25, yeah,” Scholes recalled. “Inter Milan wanted to give me £4 million a year, tax-free. Back then, that was massive. It was probably more than double what I was on at United.”
The proposed transfer was even headline news: “I remember seeing it on the back of the paper: £30 million to Inter Milan or something,” he said, but noted he never heard anything official from the clubs.
Encouraged by teammates, Scholes plucked up the courage to approach the notoriously fierce manager about his wages, an action he instantly regretted. He recalled Ferguson’s response:
“He pulled out that little black book he always had… ‘No, I think you’re all right. I think you’re level with everyone. It’s fine.’ That was it. ‘I think what you’re on is good, yeah. All right, thanks. See you later.’ Jeez. That is the worst. That’s my biggest regret in football, doing that.”
Scholes ultimately chose to stay, reflecting his loyalty: “I was already at the biggest club in the world anyway.”