Midfielders Quotes

I'm famous for being a silky midfielder.

I can’t think of a striker in the world who has scored so many important goals, never mind a midfielder.

To me Paul is a role model. He is the best midfielder I've seen in the last 15 or 20 years.

Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation.

Every player wants to be as complete as possible and goals for a central midfielder are very important.

In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen - the most complete - is SCHOLES

In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen — the most complete — is Scholes. I have spoken with Xabi Alonso about this many times. Scholes is a spectacular player who has everything. He can play the final pass, he can score, he is strong, he never gets knocked off the ball and he doesn’t give possession away. If he had been Spanish then maybe he would have been valued more.

A good midfielder has eyes in the back of his head, that's the secret in a nutshell

My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder.

Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes, he is the best midfielder of his generation. I would had loved to play alongside him.

Sad to hear of Paul Scholes retirement! One of the best midfielders to grace the Premiership! Idolised him for years! Legend.

For me, Marouane Fellaini has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League over the last few seasons. If he continues to improve at United, we’ll have a really good player on our hands.

Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team.

You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career.

Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence.

I have no hesitation in putting a name to the embodiment of all that I think is best about football. It's Paul Scholes. In so many ways Scholes is my favourite.

The only great English midfielder in my career was Paul Scholes. He had elegance in him. Others were pretenders.

Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I'm not trying to play dirty - I'm just playing tough. And I'm trying to earn my spot on the team. I'm trying to earn a starting spot. I'm trying to become a complete midfielder who attacks, who defends. So that's the mindset.

You can't ask every player to do the same thing. That's why we have amazing midfielders, defenders, forwards and keepers. You can't ask them to be of the same mold.

When I played football, I liked being a goalkeeper or a midfielder. I was probably better at cricket. I would be a very good cricketer if I was a professional now. I think I would probably have been the best, in fact.

He will be England captain one day. Jack Wilshere is a real leader. I saw how he spoke with the referee and the other players [against Denmark]. It is difficult to find someone so young with such a big personality. I remember two defenders, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, and one attacker, Raul, but for personality and confidence on the pitch he is the best young midfielder I have seen for his age.

Steven Gerrard is the best player I've ever played with.

Who is the Best Player in the World? Leo Messi.

I play in a position that demands hard work and generosity and little glamour, but I like it.  It’s my job and I like it.  I would rather intercept and steal 10 balls than shoot.  That’s what I’m here for, to make everyone else’s jobs easier.

I can't understand why Scholes has never won the player of the year award. He should have won it long ago. Maybe it's because he doesn't seek the limelight like some of the other 'stars'.

This stupid celebrity thing is just a consequence of being good at what you do. I mean, no one would photograph David Beckham if he wasn't the best attacking midfielder in the country - much as I hate Man. U!

For me as a midfielder, Paul Scholes was the best possible teacher. When people ask me my hardest opponent, I always refer to Paul in training. Facing him improved me so much because his astonishing quality gave me something to aim for. He never gave the ball away, he could nutmeg you, he could make you look a fool, his range of passing was remarkable, his touch and awareness, everything was top notch. Seeing Scholesy made you stand back and realize you had a long way to go, because he was awesome.

Scholes was probably the best English midfielder since Bobby Charlton. He was such a brilliant long passer that he could choose a hair on the head of any team-mate answering the call of nature at our training ground. Gary Neville once thought he had found refuge in a bush, but Scholesy found him from 40 yeards. He inflicted a similar long-range missile strike, once, on Peter Schmeichel, and was chased round the training ground for his impertinence. Scholesy would have made a first class-sniper.

Bayern's midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, who scampered around the pitch like an office boy on amphetamines for the last 25 minutes or so.

I have no hesitation in putting a name to the embodiment of all that I think is best about football. It's Paul Scholes. Players like Denis Law and George Best who I enjoyed so much as team-mates and now, finally, players I have watched closely in the Alex Ferguson era. And in so many ways Scholes is my favourite. I love his nous and conviction that he will find a way to win, to make the killer pass or produce the decisive volley.

I've still got Paul Scholes' shirt at home which I swapped with him once. When I was at Liverpool he was one of the players I liked most. Maybe he's not valued as much as he should be in England because of the style of football there and because he keeps a low profile. Perhaps he would have been more valued in Spain, where midfielders like him form part of the 'ideal.' Fans in Spain rate him very highly and I admire him a huge amount.

Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team - that goes to show how highly I have always rated him. An all-round midfielder who possesses quality and character in abundance.