In many ways Paul Scholes would have enjoyed the fact that Alex Ferguson's retirement announcement overshadowed his last match at Old Trafford.

Famously private by nature, the 38-year-old would have preferred to slip away quietly into the next phase of his life.

But whether Scholes likes it or not, he deserves all the plaudits he gets.

Arguably the most gifted English player of his generation, he was not appreciated by his country, often being fielded out of position when England should have built their team around his visionary passing, control and intelligence.

As Barcelona's Xavi once said of him, "if he had been Spanish, he might have been appreciated more."

But England's loss was Manchester United's gain, and Scholes scored plenty of crakcers during a career that spanned almost two decades.

 

Scholes' goal against Bradford City in March 2000 needs little introduction. David Beckham swung a corner to him. Scholes was lurking on the edge of the box and met the ball with the sweetest of volleys...

 

Seven months after his Bradford goal, Scholes crowned a Champions League win over Panathanaikos with a sublime chip... 

 

Scholes' volley against Aston Villa in late 2006 was arguably better than the Bradford goal... 

 

This top corner strike might against Middlesborough might as well have been laser-guided...

 

Scholes showed consummate ball call control as he jinked past Blackburn defenders in a 4 - 1 win in March 2007 as United marched to a first title in four years. 

 

Having missed the 1999 Champions League final through suspension, Scholes scored one of the most important goals in Man United history in the 2008 Champions League semi-final as a typical long-range beauty sent United to a Moscow final that they would go on to win against Chelsea...