Tom English: Humble Paul Scholes is a true great

NOT THAT he ever did many, but the interview that Paul Scholes gave to the BBC last year was a fascinating insight into the mind of one of the greatest of all British footballers, now retired.

It was his straightforward view of the world that stood out, a personality that Roy Keane described thus: "No celebrity bullshit, no self-promotion or glory-hunting, an amazingly gifted player who remained an unaffected human being."

"Were you ever tempted to leave Old Trafford?" Scholes was asked during that BBC interview.

An incredulous look came across the player's face. "No. What's the point?" he replied. "I've never had a thought or a need to play anywhere else."

"But everybody wants a change in their life, don't they?" the reporter asked.

"Do they?" Scholes answered.

"Don't you ever get bored by the routine?"

"Bored of winning trophies and winning games every week? Well, most weeks. Who can get bored of that?"

Scholes admitted to being shy and it was obvious in his demeanour that he was uncomfortable talking about himself and his place in United's history. It was put to him that Paddy Crerand had singled him out as the one player of all United players he most enjoyed watching. Scholes practically squirmed in his seat.

"You don't take compliments well, do you?" he was asked.

"No," he said. "I don't like compliments. I'd rather people have a go at me than give me compliments, just to prove them wrong. I prefer criticism."

In this narcissistic football world, Scholes was a delight. In the British game, he was the best passer of his generation - perhaps any generation. He was initially a goal-scoring midfielder and when his legs started to go he adapted and became more of a general in the middle of the park, influencing games with the kind of imagination and vision in his passing that nobody else had, not Steven Gerrard, not Frank Lampard, not anybody.

Those guys are routinely, and lazily, described as great players. Scholes, however, deserved that title. He has been known to become embarrassed by some of the things that people have said about him over the years. If that's true, he will have spent many hours with his hands over his eyes in mortification in recent times.

Sir Bobby Charlton: Many great players have worn the shirt of Manchester United. Players I worshipped, then lost with my youth in Munich. 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.

Xavi Hernandez: Paul Scholes is a role model. For me - and I really mean this - he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years.

Zinedine Zidane: My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation.Marcello Lippi: 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.

Sir Alex Ferguson: One of the greatest football brains Manchester United has ever had.

Edgar Davids: Everyone of us should emulate him. We can all learn from Paul Scholes.

Ryan Giggs: I'd go for Scholesy as the club's greatest ever player. I've seen him do things that no other player can do.

Those quotes were taken from the recent past. Yesterday, the stars came out again to salute the man.

Gerard Pique: One of the best players I've ever seen in my life! Spectacular on training! Playing with him was a joy!

Jack Wilshere: Sad to hear Paul Scholes is retiring, what a player! Top class and a great role model.

Wayne Rooney: He will be missed greatly. He is definitely the best player I have played with. I tried to ask him what he was doing but you don't get much out of him.

Rio Ferdinand: Paul Scholes retires from football. . . the BEST player of his generation. Fact. Loved every minute of playing football with him. Paul Scholes aka Sat Nav went from a scoring midfielder to a dictator of the game.

It was probably no co-incidence that Scholes chose yesterday to slip the news out about his retirement. With the implosion of Fifa he may have thought it wasn't a bad time to make the announcement. With everybody so distracted by the insane goings-on at Fifa he might have calculated that everybody would be too busy to bother about his departure. Just in case, though, he disappeared on holiday.

He flew off to a place where none of these paeans will reach him. Somehow, you doubt that this shy footballer will have been on the internet last night googling his name and looking out for the nice things that people were saying about him.

Just as well. If he prefers criticism then the eulogies would have been uncomfortable. It's hard to know how much money Ferguson is going to have to spend in order to find a replacement for Scholes.

Short of Xavi Hernandez or Andres Iniesta decamping to Old Trafford, you have to say that the United manager has a job on his hands. As does the poor soul who is brought in to try and do the job that Scholes once did.