Profile
Paul Scholes came through the academy as part of the Class of 92, but his United career should not be reduced to that label. He was one of Ferguson's great problem-solvers: a player who could score as a second striker, arrive late from midfield, then later control matches from deeper areas with passing that looked simple only after he had made it.
In his younger years Scholes offered goals. He timed runs into the box, struck the ball cleanly from distance and combined naturally with centre-forwards. In the Treble squad, that made him a different option from Roy Keane and Nicky Butt: less defensive authority, more penalty-area threat.
The second half of his career turned him into a metronome. Scholes dropped deeper, received under pressure and moved the ball before opponents could reset. With Michael Carrick in particular, he helped United control territory without needing a traditional ball-carrying midfielder. His passing range gave the wide players and forwards better pictures to attack.
There were rough edges. His tackling became a running joke because mistimed challenges were frequent enough to be part of the story. But the wider picture is of a footballer whose intelligence aged beautifully. His 2012 return from retirement was revealing: United brought him back because the side still needed what he saw before everyone else.