Paul Scholes – Biography, Net Worth, Wife, Height, Position & More
What is Paul Scholes’ net worth?
A frequent question about any long-serving footballer concerns their financial standing. For Paul Scholes, the answer requires separating verified fact from public estimate, because no official figure has ever been released. Most estimates place his wealth at around £30 million, built primarily from a two-decade Manchester United salary and later media work. That number is an informed estimate rather than a confirmed disclosure.
English former footballer, born in Salford in 1974, whose entire professional career was spent at Manchester United.
Married to Claire Froggatt since 1999, with children; the family has stayed firmly out of the media spotlight.
718 appearances and 155 goals for Manchester United; 66 caps and 14 goals for England.
Estimated at around £30 million, though no official figure has ever been confirmed.
- Paul Scholes is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation.
- He won 25 trophies with Manchester United, including 11 Premier League titles and 2 UEFA Champions League titles.
- His exceptional passing range, vision, and powerful shooting defined his style of play.
- He married Claire Froggatt in February 1999; IMDb reports that the couple have three children.
- His net worth is estimated at around £30 million, largely from his playing career and punditry.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Aaron Scholes |
| Date of birth | |
| Place of birth | Salford, Greater Manchester, England |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in), with one club archive listing 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Position | Central midfielder |
| Playing career | 1993–2013 (Manchester United), including a brief retirement return in 2012–2013 |
| Club | Manchester United |
| Net worth | Estimated at £30 million; not officially confirmed |
| Spouse | Claire Froggatt (married February 1999) |
| Children | Three, according to IMDb; named Aaron, Alicia, and Aiden in Hungarian Wikipedia |
Who is Paul Scholes’ wife and family?
Paul Scholes has built a career defined by footballing consistency and personal restraint. Outside press conferences and televised punditry, his family life has remained largely invisible, and public documents contain relatively little detail.
Claire Froggatt, Paul Scholes’ wife
Scholes married Claire Froggatt in February 1999, according to IMDb’s biography page. Froggatt has stayed out of the media throughout their marriage, which means few verified personal details about her are publicly available. The marriage took place in the same year Manchester United won the treble.
Paul Scholes’ children
Biographical records are not perfectly consistent on the couple’s children. IMDb’s biography page states that Scholes and Froggatt have three children. Hungarian Wikipedia names them Aaron, Alicia, and Aiden, while other profiles refer to a daughter named Alicia and a son named Arron without mentioning a third child. None of the children have any significant public profile, which matches the family’s low-key approach.
The available detail on Scholes’ family is limited and occasionally contradictory across sources. This reflects a couple that has consistently avoided public attention throughout his career.
What position did Paul Scholes play and how tall is he?
Scholes’ playing identity is closely tied to his position in central midfield and the way he controlled matches from that area of the pitch.
Position: central midfielder
Scholes operated as a central midfielder throughout his career. In his earlier seasons he played higher up the pitch as an attacking midfielder, and in his later years he dropped deeper, dictating play from midfield. His official Premier League profile records him as a midfielder, and his Transfermarkt profile lists detailed statistics across every season he played.
Height: 1.68 m and the variation between sources
Biography sources commonly list Scholes at 1.68 m, or 5 ft 6 in. Some club records, however, give a slightly different reading of 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m). Height listings in football databases are rarely uniform, and Scholes is a typical example of that variation.
Football databases often disagree on height by a few centimetres. For Scholes, the most commonly repeated figure is 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in), while one archive records 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in). Both figures appear in published sources.
What is Paul Scholes’ nickname and jersey number?
Nickname: “The Ginger Prince” and “Scholesy”
The nickname most strongly associated with Scholes is “The Ginger Prince.” The Portuguese Wikipedia page explicitly lists the equivalent name “Príncipe Ruivo,” or “Red Prince.” Fellow players and supporters have also long used “Scholesy,” though the origin of that informal name is not documented in the available sources.
Jersey number: the number 18 and what is not confirmed
Among fans, Scholes is closely associated with the number 18 at Manchester United. However, the available sources do not explicitly confirm this detail, and some biographical summaries suggest he wore more than one number during his time at Old Trafford. Without an official record in the reviewed material, this should be treated as commonly repeated rather than firmly verified.
The number 18 is widely associated with Scholes at Manchester United, but no source in the available records directly confirms the jersey number, its history, or the reasons behind any changes.
What are the key milestones in Paul Scholes’ life and career?
- – Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, England.
- – Joined Manchester United.
- – Made his senior debut for Manchester United against Port Vale in the League Cup.
- – Married Claire Froggatt and won the treble with Manchester United.
- – Won the UEFA Champions League for the second time.
- – Announced his retirement, returning to the pitch in 2012.
- – Retired permanently, leaving Manchester United on 19 May.
- – Joined Salford City as co-owner.
- – Briefly served as manager of Oldham Athletic.
- – Returned to punditry at BT Sport.
What is confirmed and what remains unclear about Paul Scholes?
Separating established fact from recurring estimate helps clarify the public record on Scholes. The following comparison lays out what the available sources confirm and what they do not.
| Established information | Information that remains unclear |
|---|---|
| Born on 16 November 1974 in Salford, Greater Manchester | Exact net worth; estimates circulate but no official figure exists |
| Full name: Paul Aaron Scholes | Origin of the nickname “Scholesy” is not documented |
| Spent his entire playing career at Manchester United | Jersey number history; 18 is widely cited but not officially confirmed |
| Married to Claire Froggatt since February 1999 | Number and names of children differ across sources |
| Height commonly listed at 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Pre-marriage personal details are not publicly verified |
Why is Paul Scholes so highly regarded?
Scholes’ reputation extends beyond the trophy cabinet. Peers at the top of the game, including Xavi, Zinedine Zidane, and Pep Guardiola, have spoken about him as one of the greatest midfielders of the modern era. Xavi, in particular, has described Scholes as the best midfielder of his generation, a view repeated across interviews.
His game was built on precision rather than physical power. Exceptional passing accuracy, late runs into the box, and a ferocious shot were the defining elements of his play. He was not a natural tackler, but he read the game so well that he rarely needed to rely on challenge-based defending.
Within Manchester United’s structure, Scholes anchored the midfield through the club’s most successful period under Sir Alex Ferguson. His partnerships with Roy Keane, Nicky Butt, and later Michael Carrick defined the side’s approach and underpinned the 25 trophies he won in a United shirt. The MUFCInfo archive summarises his career role as a central and attacking midfielder known for vision, passing, and intelligence. For another profile of an English football icon, see Harry Redknapp – Career, Family and Key Facts.
Which sources document Paul Scholes’ career and life?
Paul Scholes is the best midfielder of his generation.
Xavi, paraphrased across multiple interviews
He won 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League titles.
Biographical record, Wikipedia
Documentation on Scholes comes from several independent sources. His verified Instagram account offers occasional personal updates without structured biographical data. Fans have also preserved his playing career through video, such as this compilation of his goals.
For England, Simple Wikipedia records 66 appearances and 14 goals for the national side. His autobiography, Scholes: My Story, also documents the seven years he represented England, which included World Cup and European Championship campaigns.
What is the lasting legacy of Paul Scholes?
Paul Scholes was a one-club man in an era of frequent transfers, spending his entire career at Manchester United and winning 25 major trophies along the way. His reputation as a midfielder rested on technical brilliance rather than showmanship, and his private life remained deliberately quiet even at the height of his fame. Today, he works as a pundit and co-owns Salford City, continuing the understated football journey that began in Salford in 1974. For a similar in-depth profile of another British football great, read Kenny Dalglish – Complete Biography, Career Trophies and Personal Life.
Frequently asked questions about Paul Scholes
How many goals did Paul Scholes score for Manchester United?
He scored 155 goals in 718 appearances for Manchester United across all competitions, according to the official club profile.
When did Paul Scholes retire from football?
He initially retired in 2011, returned to Manchester United in 2012, and then retired for good in 2013.
What is Paul Scholes’ net worth in 2025?
Estimated at around £30 million, though exact figures are not publicly confirmed.
Did Paul Scholes ever play for England?
Yes, he earned 66 caps for England from 1997 to 2004, scoring 14 goals.
What is Paul Scholes’ full name?
His full name is Paul Aaron Scholes.
What trophies did Paul Scholes win during his career?
He won 25 trophies with Manchester United, including 11 Premier League titles and 2 UEFA Champions League titles.
Has Paul Scholes ever managed a football club?
Yes, he briefly served as manager of Oldham Athletic in 2019.
Victoria Winslow is Editor-in-Chief at ShowbizUK.co.uk, overseeing editorial policy, corrections, editorial standards, publication decisions, source review and content quality across the publication.