Paul Scholes, the England and Manchester United legend, 50, revealed in a podcast show that he stopped doing commentary work on matches to take care of his autistic son. The Salford-born, who last played
professionally in 2013, has a son with his ex-wife and he takes care of his 20-year-old boy while managing his professional commitments, building his day around him entirely.
During the Stick to Football podcast show, Paul Scholes talked about how doing commentary on Thursday night matches of Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) last season turned his life upside down since it is the night he usually had his son with him. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “Everything I'm going to do now just works around him. 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 all agitated, biting and scratching. He knows the pattern's not there straight away,” Paul Scholes added. He shared details about keeping his son’s diagnosis a secret initially during his playing days and got dropped from matchday squads by manager Sir Alex Ferguson at times to care for him.
I never got a break from it, even when playing - it was very hard in those days: Paul Scholes
“I never got a break from it, even when playing - it was very hard in those days. I don't think they diagnosed it until he was two-and-a-half years old. But you knew early something was wrong, but then you get the diagnosis, and I'd never heard of it. I remember the first time after it, we were playing Derby away and I just didn't want to be there. I remember the manager dropped me the week after, and I hadn't told anyone. I ended up telling them a few weeks later, as it was quite hard,” said Paul Scholes about how it all played out during his son’s younger days.
The 11-time Premier League champion also divulged into how he doesn’t want any sympathy for his son apart from worrying about what will happen if he isn’t around for him anymore. He remarked, “Even now, I don't want sympathy or anything. I just thought, even if I did speak to someone about it, it's not going to help Aiden. 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 now on my mind all the time.”
