Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has revealed that he quit his commentary work to dedicate more time to caring for his autistic son, Aiden.
Speaking on The Stick to Football podcast, the 50-year-old explained that his media commitments began to clash with his son’s routine, prompting him to step back from regular punditry duties.
“Everything I’m going to do now just works around him,” Scholes said. “I do studio work, but everything is built around his day. Last season, on Thursday nights, I’d do the Europa League for Manchester United, that’s the night I’d usually have him, so he was getting agitated, biting and scratching. He knows straight away when the pattern isn’t there.”
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Scholes, who co-parents the 20-year-old with his ex-wife, said he initially kept Aiden’s diagnosis private during his playing days. He revealed that the situation became so difficult that Sir Alex Ferguson once dropped him from the Manchester United squad while he was silently struggling to cope.
“I never got a break from it, even when playing, it was very hard in those days,” Scholes said. “They didn’t diagnose it until he was about two-and-a-half, but you knew early something was wrong. After we got the diagnosis, I remember we were playing Derby away and I just didn’t want to be there.”
The United legend added that his biggest worry now is what will happen to Aiden when he’s no longer around.
“The big concern now is, because you’re getting a bit older, what happens when you’re not here? That’s the thing that’s on my mind all the time,” he said.
