Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes have shared the pitch with countless Manchester United legends during their glittering careers.
The two Manchester-born midfielders grew through the club’s youth ranks together before sharing the pitch at the Theatre of Dreams in one of the most successful sides to ever grace English football.
Both Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes graduated as part of United’s iconic ‘Class of ’92’ who went on to form the core of Sir Alex Ferguson‘s team in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
Butt spent 12 years of his playing career with United but returned as a coach and the head of United’s academy. As for Scholes, he spent a staggering 18 years playing for the Red Devils before eventually retiring – for the second time – in 2013.
The duo have both etched their name into the list of Manchester United legends, but they have both agreed that one of their ‘Class of 92’ teammates stood above the rest from an early age.
Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes name Man United’s ‘boy wonder’
Looking back, it is staggering that United had such an incredibly talented group of youngsters break through the academy alongside each other.
They remain an inspiration at Carrington for the next batch of youngsters looking to break through at United.
But even Butt and Scholes agreed that one of their teammates stood out above everyone else even during his teenage years.
Speaking about their breakthrough on the Football’s Greatest: Eras podcast, Butt and Scholes admitted that Ryan Giggs was “way above everybody else”.
“Me and you went to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland when we were schoolboys at 15,” Butt said [17:00 onwards].
“That was the first time I saw him [Giggs] play, and he was the boy wonder wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, special wasn’t he?” Added Scholes.
“He was 16, way above everybody else, and he was all over the back of the pink, saying ‘this wonderkid scores a hat-trick for Salford’.
“You knew he was going to be a top player, but I don’t remember him coming to many of our training sessions.
“But like I say, I didn’t see him until the Milk Cup. But I remember when I did see him thinking ‘I’m way off that level’, but he was an exception at that age.
Scholes added: “I just remember looking at him and seeing him as a first-team player. I never saw him as an apprentice or reserve team player.”
Ryan Giggs was a phenomenon at Man United
There is a reason that Giggs went on to become United’s highest appearance maker of all time with 963.
The Welsh winger was nothing short of a phenomenon after breaking through from the academy.
It is not just Butt and Scholes who were amazed by him – Peter Schmeichel was blown away by Giggs during his time at Old Trafford.
United’s list of legendary wingers is extremely impressive, but Giggs deserves his spot right at the top.
The now-50-year-old has recently been linked to a managerial job in the Championship, so United fans may get a glimpse at Giggs on the touchline once again after his stint as interim.
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