Paul Scholes believes that even the Barcelona maestro Lionel Messi would find it hard to perform in the current Manchester United team, such is the serious nature of their problems.
The club legend, speaking in an interview with ESPN, has denied that there’s a dearth of quality players at Old Trafford, but rather one or two missing cogs but - more importantly - a general impression that every individual is labouring under the current regime.
"I don't think there's a lack of quality there. I do think they miss a couple of real class players that other top teams seem to have - a link player between the midfield and the forwards and also a controlling midfield player.
"It feels like every player who comes into the team struggles. I feel like we could sign Lionel Messi at the moment and he'd struggle in this team.”
Scholes has been a vocal critic of manager Jose Mourinho, saying recently that he feels: "His mouth is probably out of control and I think he's embarrassing the club”.
The player-turned-pundit has fronted the band of ex-United players, known as the ‘Class of 92’ who have made their dissatisfaction with the running of both the team and club abundantly clear.
His old teammate Gary Neville has been minded to direct his criticism at the boardroom, rather than the dugout, and tweeted the following at the club hierarchy last month.
“This mess started when United sacked David Moyes after 8 months and we lost all sense of the values that the club had been built on for 100 years. It’s not the manager it’s the lack of football leadership above him. They are bouncing all over the place with no plan!” (@GNev2)
