Monday, February 6th, 2012
Manchester United veteran midfielder Paul Scholes has said that he isn’t planning to retire after this year’s 2010-11 Barclays Premier League season.
It was widely expected that the 35-year-old would retire at the end of the next campaign after only signing a one-year contract extension at the end of last season, but Scholes has indicated that 2010-11 won’t necessarily be his last.
Scholes was even approached by England manager Fabio Capello before the World Cup to see if he was willing to return to international football and help the nation in South Africa. Scholes, who has made 643 appearances for United, turned the request down. He will concentrate solely on contributing when needed under Sir Alex Ferguson’s midfielder rotation policy, on a one game at a time basis.
“I do not know if it will be my last season,” he told United’s website. “I will just take every game as it comes. If I am feeling okay and doing the job that the manager wants me to do then we will see how things are at the end of next season. Hopefully next season will be another good one for me.”
Scholes and Ryan Giggs are the senior players in the United squad training in Chicago ahead of their five-match summer tour. The temperature is expected to reach 33 degrees Celsius today but, according to Scholes, United will reap the benefits later.
“Pre-season is always a busy time of the year for us because we’re focused on getting set for the start of the season. We are doing lots of training in very hot conditions but hopefully that will stand us in a good stead for when the season begins. As far as next season goes we want to get back on track. Hopefully we’ll have better luck with injuries and win some more trophies.”
Tags: England, EPL, Manchester United, Paul Scholes