'Worst thing I ever did in my life' - Man Utd legend Paul Scholes reveals his 'biggest regret in football' after receiving transfer offer

At the turn of the millennium, Scholes was at the peak of his powers. A 25-year-old midfield maestro admired across Europe. No surprise that Inter tried to lure him to Italy to bolster their options at the centre of the park. During his recent appearance on The Overlap podcast, Scholes revealed the massive wages the Serie A outfit were apparently ready to pay him to swap Old Trafford for San Siro. 

"I was 25, yeah," Scholes recalled. "Inter Milan wanted to give me £4 million a year, tax-free. Back then, that was massive. It was probably more than double what I was on at United."

The proposed transfer was headline material. “I remember seeing it on the back of the paper: £30 million to Inter Milan or something,” he said. “But I never heard anything about it again. It just vanished.” Scholes also admitted that word of the offer came from Ryan Giggs's agent Harry Swales.

It takes nerve to confront Sir Alex even for one of his most trusted soldiers. But Scholes, gathering every ounce of courage that he could muster, decided to do the unthinkable.

"I actually still put up the courage, I thought, I'm still going to go," he said. "I think I said something like, I think I deserve more money, or I want to be on more money. What am I doing? Just looking at him."

Then came the moment etched forever in his memory. “He pulled out that little black book he always had,” Scholes continued. "You remember the little black book he has? So, he's flicking through the pages for like five minutes. 'No, I think you're all right. I think you're level with everyone. It's fine.' That was it. 'I think what you're on is good, yeah. All right, thanks. See you later.' Jeez. That is the worst. That's my biggest regret in football, doing that."

No debate, no argument with Sir Alex. Just an icy dismissal that left Scholes wanting the ground to swallow him whole. 

Former Inter president Massimo Moratti later confirmed that the Italian giants genuinely tried to sign Scholes and were ready to break the bank to make it happen.

"We tried really hard to sign Paul Scholes, we even gave Manchester United a blank cheque," Moratti was quoted as saying. "We spoke to him, but his reply was short and simple: 'If you want me to play for you, you would have to buy this club'."

Reflecting on that period, Scholes insisted he never truly entertained the idea of leaving Old Trafford. The offer might have been tempting, but his heart was always red.

"If the manager said to me that he didn't want me I would definitely have gone if there was a big club abroad who wanted me but there was never any need to ever think about Barcelona, Real Madrid or AC Milan. I was already at the biggest club in the world anyway," he explained. 

While Scholes reflects on his past, his beloved United are busy scripting a potential revival story under Ruben Amorim. October began with a gritty 2-0 triumph over Sunderland, a result that hinted at a shift in momentum. After the international, they held their fort and registered a 2-1 win at Anfield that ended a nine-year hoodoo against Liverpool on their own turf. Back at Old Trafford, the players delivered another thrilling spectacle, overpowering Brighton 4-2 in an end-to-end battle. They head into their next Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest riding on a wave of confidence. A victory would mark their fourth straight win in the league, something they haven’t achieved since February 2024.