Manchester United great Scholes makes non-league return

Manchester United great Paul Scholes returned to action for his local non-league team on Saturday – but he was unable to prevent Royton Town from losing 1-0 to Stockport Georgians.

Scholes donned the number eight jersey for Royton, whom his son Arron plays for, when they found themselves without a raft of senior players.

Word of the 11-time Premier League winner stepping out in the 11th tier of English football soon got out, with plenty of fans in attendance to see him roll back the years.

“Usually these sort of games attract 40 or 50 people but there were a lot more there when word got out that he was playing,” Royton chairman Gary Leeming told BBC Sport.

“I can’t imagine Stockport Georgians have ever had so many people on their car park.

Good to see Paul Scholes still playing the game, aged 43 – for Royton Town at Stockport Georgians#MUFC

 @LMonsterAds pic.twitter.com/6sNMXCYjbM

— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) September 1, 2018

“We were down to the bare bones. He’s 43 now but he’s still got that magic wand and he was absolutely fantastic for us.

“He obviously has a lot of media commitments but he occasionally trains with us when he can and is still a great player.”

Stockport Georgians praised Scholes’ performance in defeat on their Twitter page.

“Finally! 90 mins of hard graft and discipline from the 1st team sees us come away with the win against @RoytonTownFC,” they tweeted.

“More than deserved and well overdue. The lad in midfield for them is one to look out for in the future though. #scholesy thanks to all that supported today!”

Not sure the tackling has improved, mindpic.twitter.com/M4ijmxJVzX

— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) September 1, 2018

Scholes was capped 66 times by England, scoring 14 goals, and briefly retired in 2011 but returned to action for United following a six-month hiatus.

The two-time Champions League winner finally called time on his celebrated Old Trafford career in 2013, with 718 appearances and 155 goals to his name.