Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has said he wants a retrospective Premier League winners' medal from the 2011/12 season after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching financial rules over a nine-year period. His comments on Instagram came just two days after former team-mate Wayne Rooney said he would not feel comfortable accepting such an award.
City were found to have arranged 'sham contracts' with several commercial partners between 2009 and 2018, disguising secret funding in excess of £830 million. During their title-winning campaigns in 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18, the club recorded £360 million in sponsor fees, of which only £43 million was legitimate, with the remainder coming from their owners.
Rooney's stance on a potential medal
Speaking on the Stick to United podcast, Rooney, United's all-time record goalscorer, admitted he 'wouldn't really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal'. He said: 'I don't think we deserve it, we didn't do enough that season to win the league. I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.'
Rooney added that he would be 'absolutely devastated' if he were in a Manchester City player's shoes, noting that players are 'doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title and in their mind they have done it'. He concluded: 'So when I see team-mates saying, "I want a medal", I'm happy with the five I've won. I wouldn't want this one.'
Scholes's contrasting view
Scholes, however, expressed a radically different opinion on Instagram: 'Keep hearing ex-teammates saying they want trophies taking (sic) off them but they don't want their medals… f*** that I'm a greedy b****** I want my medal.'
The guilty verdict was announced just over a week ago following a four-year investigation into City's financial practices. City have strenuously denied any wrongdoing, and on Friday it was announced that the eight-time English champions had lodged an official appeal against the decision.
City's appeal statement
In a statement on the club's website, City confirmed the appeal was lodged at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026, citing 'clear material errors' on 'multiple grounds'. The statement read: 'The club's firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.'
The club added: 'The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.'
