Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes denies he was a ‘dirty’ player

Paul Scholes , Manchester United

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Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has dismissed claims that he was a dirty player during his career.

Scholes is the third most-booked player of all time in the Premier League with 90 yellow cards and his last red card came in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City for a challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.

The 36-year-old insists he was never out to hurt anyone during a match and says he was unlucky at times in his playing years.

Scholes said: “I have just been unlucky – I never had red mist against anybody. The one against Zabaleta, I didn’t do on purpose, it was just bad timing.

“The ball was up there and the way your leg goes it has to come down and unfortunately it came down on his leg. I would never intentionally try to hurt somebody.”

Despite being very complimentary about Scholes’ career, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed the midfielder had a “dark-side” with some tenacious displays against the North London club.

But Scholes added: “Nobody has ever had to go off following one of my tackles and nobody has broken their leg. I have never been nasty.”