Scholes opens up on drinking habits which “worried” Man Utd enough to call home | OneFootball

Paul Scholes has revealed that Manchester United youth coach Eric Harrison once told his parents that he was “worried” about the midfielder’s drinking.

Scholes made 499 appearances for United, winning 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues in two decades at the heart of midfield for the Red Devils.

Despite his illustrious career, Scholes wasn’t committed to keeping himself in peak condition as a young man at United.

He told Gary Neville on The Overlap that he spent a lot of time in pubs and the club was concerned by how much he was drinking.

Scholes told Neville: “Sometimes we’d stay in there (the pub) until eight or nine at night from half 12, I’m not proud of this, before the A and B teams on a Saturday night.”

When asked if he would still be alright, Scholes replied: “Sometimes. Most of the time, but that was my lifestyle. I was brought up around pubs as a kid.

“Wherever I went with my mum and dad as a kid it involved a pub, whether I was outside the pub kicking a ball against the wall. Kids weren’t allowed in the pubs, so I was just outside waiting for my mum and dad the whole time. I remember once, when I was 16, 17 or 18 when I was with the youth team, Eric Harrison rang my dad and said ‘we are a bit worried about Paul’s drinking’.”

“They said they were a bit worried about my drinking. I remember my dad saying ‘he’s allowed to enjoy himself, isn’t he?’ I was thinking ‘f***, dad you shouldn’t really be saying that. No, no he doesn’t drink.’

“That’s what I was brought up [on]. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and sometimes on a Monday, was going out.”

it was a “miskick”, and explained how he thought his time at United had come to an end when he refused to play a game against Arsenal.