Paul Scholes: I wanted to be part of a winning England team, not one full of greedy players just after personal glory

Paul Scholes, capped 65 times for England during a 17-year career with Manchester United, has launched an astonishing attack on ‘selfish’ teammates who, he says, drove him to quit international football when at the height of his powers.

After a career during which he has consistently shunned the limelight, Scholes last week spoke out over what he sees as the decline of the England team in the Fabio Capello era.

The man hailed by contemporaries as the best footballer of his generation claims that England’s lack of success in major championships is the result of players chasing personal glory, rather than wanting to be part of a winning team.

And he warns that the climate of selfishness he experienced before he rocked England by quitting the national side seven years ago is still prevalent today, even under Capello’s disciplinarian regime.

Talking from experience: Paul Scholes celebrates his strike against Tunisia in the 1998 World Cup 

Scholes, 36 and about to launch his coaching career with United after retiring as a player at the end of last season, said: ‘I wanted to be part of a team and there were individuals who were after personal glory. Instead of making a simple pass of 10 yards, they might try to smack it 80 yards to get themselves noticed.

‘Half the problem is players going into England games not caring. There is definitely an element of what Jamie [Carragher] said in his autobiography, about not being bothered about England losing. I always felt that players, especially at clubs like your Aston Villas, try to use England as a way to get to a top club. You wonder whether they are there for the right reason. I think they are very selfish people.

‘It happened in my day. I think they were there to get their bit of glory, their bit of headlines, to think, “Oh, I will get a move from this”.

‘If you look at the Spain team now, they all seem to play for each other. There isn’t one of them who would try to do something in a game that doesn’t suit the team and the way they play. And that could happen over here with England.’

Team ethic: World Cup winners and European champions Spain mix unity with style

Scholes, currently planning his Old Trafford testimonial against an Eric Cantona New York Cosmos XI on August 5, insists that English football does not suffer from a lack of ability, as critics suggested after England’s dismal display at last year’s World Cup in South Africa.

Capello’s team scraped through their qualifying group, finishing second to the United States, and then lost 4-1 in the first knockout round to Germany.

The widely held view within football is that England do not have enough technically gifted players like Scholes, who won 10 Premier League titles with United and was hailed by Spanish World Cup winner Xavi as the best midfield player ‘from the last 20 years’.

But Scholes thinks it is egos that have caused England’s repeated downfall in major championships rather than lack of ability. He is also concerned that the country as a whole has inflated and unrealistic expectations whenever England approach a World Cup or European Championship.

‘It is not a case of us being technically inferior to Spanish or Brazilian players,’ he said.

‘If you look through our teams, there are loads of technically brilliant players. I think the problem is probably more attitude.

The same old story: Wayne Rooney (centre) feels the pain as England crash out of the World Cup - but Ashley Cole (fifth right) appears to see the funny side

‘We are made favourites for every big tournament and it will happen again. We will beat Macedonia 6-0 in qualifiers and be made favourites for the World Cup. It’s quite laughable. It is just the mentality of English people, we think we are going to win everything.’

Scholes, who reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals under Sven Goran Eriksson’s management, claims Capello’s England lack a definite playing style and are not as good as the squads he played in under both Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle.

Scholes said: ‘I felt I played in a good England team, especially with Glenn Hoddle at the World Cup in France in 1998. Under Hoddle and Sven, you knew the way you were playing. But if I sat back and thought how England play now, I wouldn’t really know.

‘I do watch the games but I couldn’t tell you England’s style of play. Is there a holding midfielder? Is there one up front? Does Gareth Barry play? I couldn’t tell you.’

Tough to watch: Scholes is bemused over the direction England are heading in under Fabio Capello

Scholes will launch the non-playing phase of his distinguished career at Old Trafford in September.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had wanted him to continue playing for another season but the player himself felt his legs had gone and he was taking too long to recover from injuries.

‘I’m going to see Sir Alex at the beginning of August and we will have a chat about it then,’ said Scholes.

‘I’m sure he has some ideas of what he wants me to do. I think it will be coaching, maybe with Warren Joyce for the reserves. I’m not too sure yet. I will settle into the coaching first and see whether in two years I’ve got enough experience to go into management, or even feel like it.

‘I don’t think anybody at the club would see me going into management, but I just don’t know. [Assistant manager] Mick Phelan says he could never see Mark Hughes going into management and look how well he’s done.’

Learning from the master: Scholes will discuss his future role at Old Trafford with Sir Alex Ferguson 

Scholes hopes former United team-mates, including David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt, will make guest appearances in Cantona’s Cosmos team for his big night. But the player Scholes rates as his best team-mate will still be in a United shirt.

‘I’ve played with so many great ones but if I had to name one, it would be Ryan Giggs. He could do everything, play in every position as he’s shown these past couple of years. He’s gone to central midfield and he has been amazing.’