No they or Messi didn't. I can't find the quotes anyway. Okay I will post some more quotes; he gets underrated to fuck in England:
Alonso
“Fans in Spain rate him very highly and I admire him a huge amount. To me Paul is a role model. He is the best midfielder I’ve seen in the last 15 or 20 years.”
Best
“The boy can play”
Charlton
“Paul Scholes is my favourite player. He epitomises the spirit of Manchester United and everything that is good about football.”
Davids
“Every one of us is just trying to become as good as him. Everyone can learn from Paul Scholes”
Fabregas
“He is the one whose level I aspire to. He is the best player in the Premier League.”
Ferdinand
“Paul Scholes, aka Sat Nav, went from a scoring midfielder to a dictator of the game (changed his game while still at top of the game). Genius.”
Figo
“I’m star-struck when I see Paul Scholes because you never see him. On the pitch you can’t catch him. Off the pitch he disappears.”
Giggs
“I have played with some great players during my time at United but I would have to put Paul Scholes down as the best.”
Guardiola
“He is the best midfielder of his generation. I would have loved to have played alongside him.”
Henry
“I can’t understand why Scholes has never won the player of the year award. He should have won it long ago. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t seek the limelight like some of the other ‘stars’.”
Law
“He’s the best all-round. A joy to watch.”
Lippi
“Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team.”
Maradonna
“His technique is unique.”
Mourinho
“Why isn’t he playing for England? It is crazy. Only in England. Scholes is a great, great player. So experienced and still, for me, one of the best in the world in midfield. Manchester United are lucky to have him.”
Nasri
“Sad to hear Paul Scholes is retiring, great player, world class player, the English Zizou.”
Pallister
“When you talk about the greats of Manchester United, he’s up there with Georgie Best, Bryan Robson, Ryan Giggs and Bobby Charlton just purely for the amount of medals that he’s won, he’s going to be greatly missed by Manchester United.”
Pele
“If he was playing with me, I would score so many more.”
Ronaldinho
“I want to pass like him. Who taught him how to do that?”
Ronaldo
“Scholes is the best i’ve played with and he helped me a lot when I was young. He’s amazing.”
Rooney
“The best player I’ve played with or against.”
Schevchenko
“They have two of the world’s best young players in Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, but the player who most impresses me is Paul Scholes. He is United’s most important player, he makes most things happen on the field.”
Shearer
“If you ask footballers to pick out the player they most admire, so many of them will pick Paul Scholes.”
Xavi
“In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen — the most complete — is Scholes. I have spoken with Xabi Alonso about this many times. Scholes is a spectacular player who has everything. He can play the final pass, he can score, he is strong, he never gets knocked off the ball and he doesn’t give possession away. If he had been Spanish then maybe he would have been valued more.”
Zidane
“My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get.’”
Iniesta
“I love Paul Scholes – I ran up to him at Wembley [after the Champions League final last year] to get his shirt and wish him good luck. It’s on the wall at my house!”
