Paul Scholes has insisted he didn’t mean to offend his former team-mate Michael Carrick after a social media barb geared toward the Manchester United head coach on Wednesday night.
Scholes posted that “Michael has definitely got something special about him, (because) United have been c*** last 4 games,” shortly after United lost 2-1 at Newcastle.
Despite the loss, the primary since Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim, United sit third within the Premier League and are difficult for Champions League qualification.
And responding to criticism of his comment, Scholes, speaking on the GoodBadFootball podcast, said: ‘Michael is one among the nicest people you’ll ever meet in football – he’d be the last person I might wish to offend.
‘I messaged Michael anyway. I went straight to Michael and said, ‘Look, I never intended to upset you.’ And I don’t think I needed to say that anyway, and he told me himself he wasn’t upset by it.
‘I believe people have just took it otherwise from what was meant. The one thing I used to be saying was that I don’t think they played that well the last 4 games, and he’s still managing to get results.’
Scholes’ comments were criticised by one other former United player, Patrice Evra, who also took aim at perceived negativity from fellow pundits Roy Keane and Gary Neville.
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‘It annoys me because we wish to be in the highest 4, and people comments are unnecessary, but that is what you do if you work in TV.’ said Evra. ‘You’ll be able to’t be positive, you will have to be negative.’
One other United stalwart, who played alongside Carrick and Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, confirmed he had been in contact with the 51-year-old and clarified there was no animosity between the pair.
‘Everyone was saying is Scholesy drunk has he had a couple of too many to drink, Ferdinand said when referring to the incident on his Rio Presents YouTube channel.
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‘I actually texted him and said ‘what’s occurring?’ But Scholesy is Scholesy. He said ‘listen I said he’s special but we now have been rubbish the last 4 games’.
‘And he isn’t fallacious. Now we have been rubbish the last 4 games when it comes to performance. It hasn’t been top, I wouldn’t say rubbish. It hasn’t been oh my god I’m going to pay to observe that against next week, it’s been flat.
‘Individuals are going ‘I assumed he was his teammate, I assumed he’d support him a bit more. Did he have to say that?’ Those are obviously the questions individuals are asking if there a little bit of beef between them?
‘Listen, there’s not beef between them two. They’re two really placid, calm guys. Carra has the upmost respect for Scholesy and Scholesy the identical.
‘It was just interpreted otherwise to the way in which Scholesy meant it to return across.
‘He’s just being honest and brutal. One thing I’d say abouut him, he didn’t say much within the changing room but when he did it was normally a cutting comment so I’m not surprised he’s how he’s as a pundit straight away.’
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