Scholes Wanted to Quit

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he talked Paul Scholes out of retiring.

The midfielder signed a one-year contract extension after initially expressing doubts over whether to continue with his career.

But Ferguson says he managed to persuade the 35-year-old to play on.

"I said, 'I'll decide when you retire. Your ability's there, there's no deterioration in your actual play'" he told the club's official magazine.

"When you get to his age, and the same goes for Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, there's a deterioration in the physical aspect of it. That's natural. We all face that.

"But in terms of his ability, there's no deterioration whatsoever.

"In fact, Paul's every bit as good, if not even better, because the experience he's added to the ability he's got means he's a big asset to us - as he was against Manchester City. He helped to control the match."

Scholes rolled back the years with his last-gasp winning goal at City last month and he could yet claim a 10th Premier League title this weekend.