Paul Scholes Reveals Why He Walked Away From TV Punditry to Focus on Son's Care
Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has revealed why he chose to reduce his punditry commitments this season, prioritizing his son's care requirements above all else.
During his playing days, Scholes was notably reserved with media interactions, typically declining interviews from external press and only participating when contractually obligated—mainly for United's MUTV or official publications.
However, the retired midfielder, who ended his career in 2013, had established himself as a prominent television pundit throughout the following decade.
Scholes has openly discussed his 20-year-old son Aiden, who has autism. He shares caregiving duties with his former wife and takes responsibility for Aiden three days weekly.
Looking toward 2025–26, the former England star decided to eliminate live television punditry work that interfered with these responsibilities, limiting his media involvement to pre-recorded studio sessions that align better with his caregiving schedule.
The Stick to Football podcast on The Overlap network remains one media commitment he's maintained. He also participates in another regular podcast alongside former teammate Nicky Butt and presenter Paddy McGuinness, who also has three autistic children, titled The Good, The Bad and the Football.
"I made this choice this year because of Aiden, clearly due to his special requirements you might be aware of," Scholes shared on Stick to Football's milestone 100th episode this week. "All my current work revolves around his daily patterns because he follows quite a rigid routine each day, so I decided everything I undertake centers on Aiden."
"Everything I do now revolves around him, I handle studio assignments, but everything is structured around his schedule. Last season on Thursday evenings I'd cover the Europa League for Manchester United [matches], that's the evening I'd typically have him, so he was becoming distressed, biting and scratching. He immediately recognizes [when] the routine is disrupted.
"I continued that for years really, constantly thinking I need to end this eventually so I had the opportunity to join the podcast and I believed that would work better for me, well not me, Aiden."
Scholes added: "I'm no longer with [ex-wife] Claire so we each have him three evenings and Claire's mother takes him Friday evenings. We consistently follow the same activities with him as he doesn't understand days of the week or time. But he'll recognize from our activities which day it is.
"I collect him every Tuesday from his daycare and we go swimming. [He] enjoys swimming, then we grab his pizza heading home. Thursday…collect him, go for a meal, return home. Sunday, I pick him up from Claire's place and we visit Tesco where he fills a cart with chocolate."
Reflecting on receiving the initial diagnosis, Scholes stated: "We had no idea what lay ahead for us. I didn't discuss it with anyone at the club. Even today I don't seek sympathy or anything. I simply felt even if I had spoken to someone about it, it wouldn't benefit Aiden.
"I'm unsure what would assist me. The major worry now is because you're aging, what occurs when you're no longer here? That's what occupies my thoughts constantly. There are moments when it's not on your mind, it's like anything, then there are times like now when you begin discussing it, it's prominent in your thoughts."
This week's Stick to Football podcast with Paul Scholes is now available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.