Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has reiterated that he would gladly accept another Premier League winners' medal following Manchester City's guilty verdict for breaching the division's financial regulations. His stance contrasts sharply with that of his former United team-mate Wayne Rooney, who does not believe they would deserve it.
City were found guilty of 114 breaches between 2009 and 2018 and edged Manchester United to the Premier League title on goal difference in 2012. United thought they had clinched the league with a win at the Stadium of Light, only to discover that City had completed a dramatic late comeback against Queens Park Rangers courtesy of Sergio Aguero's iconic strike.
While City have lodged an appeal against the Independent Commission's ruling and continue to protest their innocence, rival clubs await news of what punishment will be handed down. The club could face a fine, a points deduction, or even expulsion from the top flight.
Scholes' emphatic response
There remains a possibility that City could be stripped of their titles, though the prospect of runners-up being elevated to champions appears unlikely for the time being. However, Scholes, who boasts 11 Premier League titles, would gladly add another medal to his haul.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football, sponsored by Midnite, Scholes gave an emphatic response to Paddy McGuinness' assertion that he would not want the title.
"Why not?" said Scholes. "F*****g yeah. I only played 14 times somewhere in the last six months of the season. But yeah, I would take it. We lost on goal difference that year."
"Do you not think the rest of our team, our teammates, the manager and the staff are working their bollocks off all year to try and win the league? And just because a team did it wrongly, cheated, that we wouldn't want it?"
Scholes had previously described himself as greedy for more silverware.
"Keep hearing ex-teammates saying they want trophies taking off them [City] but don't want their medals," Scholes wrote on his Instagram story. "F*** that, I'm a greedy b****** I want my medal."
Rooney's differing view
One of those former teammates was Rooney, who was quizzed on whether he would accept a retrospective medal by Match of the Day host Kelly Cates.
"It's difficult," he said. "I look at it from the players' point of view. I'm assuming all the players didn't know what was going on.
"They went onto the football pitch and won the league, while we finished second. We didn't finish first. Why would we want a medal for finishing second?"
Rooney had previously admitted he would not feel at ease accepting a winner's medal.
"I have heard Rio has come out saying about getting another Premier League medal. I wouldn't really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I'm being honest," said Rooney on the Stick To United podcast.
"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. I've seen everything that has come out over the past few days and listening to people and I was putting myself in a Man City player's shoes.
"It might happen, they might take them [medals] away, but I wouldn't want it [a medal] because I don't think as a team we deserved it that year because obviously we didn't finish first. 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."
"Should they get it stripped for what the owners have done? Yeah maybe, but I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting it."
