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What is the story?
Former Manchester United defender Jonathan Spector has insisted that “Scholes was a step ahead of everyone else on the pitch” during his tenure at Old Trafford.
The 33-year-old American claimed that the English midfielder was far better than the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.
In case you didn’t know….
Jonathan Spector arrived at Old Trafford in the year of 2003-04, the same summer in which Cristiano Ronaldo was signed from Sporting Lisbon of Portugal. Spector made only 8 appearances during his three-year stint in the red side of Manchester.
However, Paul Scholes was a proven quantity by then and was going through a purple patch in his career. During his twenty-year-long famous career, Scholes made 718 appearances for the Red Devils and scored over 150 goals. He truly was a real warrior for Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United faithful. Scholes announced his retirement in 2013 from professional football. With the Red Devils, he won a staggering amount of trophies of 25 trophies which included 11 Premier Leagues titles and 2 UEFA Champions League.
Whereas Ronaldo, who eventually won his first of his five Ballon d'Or awards at Old Trafford, arrived in Manchester at such a young age of 18 and it took him only a few months to register his first official trophy in the famous red shirt with a FA Cup triumph. The Portuguese winger also won three consecutive Premier League titles and his first Champions League crown after beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties in 2008. He left the club for Real Madrid the following year, for an amount that was a world record transfer fee at that time.
The heart of the matter…
The former Man Utd and US national team defender told the Daily Record that,
“I have also been incredibly fortunate to play with some of the best players who have ever played the game — and to learn from them.
“It would be easy to say the best was Cristiano Ronaldo but, to be honest, I’d have to say Paul Scholes"
“He was always a step ahead of me, but it felt like he was a step ahead of everyone else on the pitch.”
What’s Next?
Spector will look forward to play for his new team Hibernian F.C in Scotland, whereas Ronaldo will be gearing up to play for Portugal against Ukraine in the UEFA EURO qualifiers.
