Doting Dad! Paul Scholes Takes Step Back From Punditry Due To...

Last Updated:October 30, 2025, 20:15 IST

The 50-year-old former England midfielder opened up on his decision to focus on his son Aiden, who has been diagnosed with autism.

Paul Scholes. (X)

Manchester United Legend Paul Scholes revealed that he would take a step back from punditry in order to focus on his son Aiden, who has been diagnosed with autism, on a podcast.

The 50-year-old former England midfielder opened up on his decision on the Stick to Football podcast, as he revealed some hard-hitting details.

“I made a decision this year because of Aiden and his special needs. All the work I do now is just around his routines and he has quite a strict routine every single day. I just decided everything I’m going to do is around Aiden.

“Me and Claire are not together anymore so we have him three nights each and Claire’s mum has him on a Friday night. We always do the same things with him. He won’t know what day of the week it is or what time it is. But he’ll know from what we’re doing what day it is.

“I pick him up every Tuesday from his daycare place that he goes to for four hours and we go swimming. He loves it. We have his pizza on the way home. Thursday, I pick him up, go for something to eat, go home. On a Sunday, I pick him up from Claire’s house and we go to Tesco, where he buys a trolley full of chocolate. So, he doesn’t know what day it is or what time it is, but he knows from what we’re doing [what day it is]. He’ll be 21 in December."

“It’s hard, especially when they’re young. There’s the harm and attacking people and I only put the nice stuff on. I do sometimes think about putting the stuff on when he [Aiden] is not too happy when he might try and bite or scratch. But then I do think it’s probably not the right thing to do."

“He’d bite your arm or scratch you," he said. “It was simply just out of frustration for him. He didn’t understand things. He couldn’t tell you how he was feeling.

“I never got a break from it [even when playing]. It was very hard in those days … I don’t think they [doctors] diagnosed it until he was 2½ years old. But you knew early something was wrong. Then you get the diagnosis of autism, and I’d never heard of it. Then all of a sudden you start seeing everything, I don’t know if it just subconsciously happens, I don’t know.

“I remember the first time [he was told]. We were playing Derby away and I just didn’t want to be there. I remember the manager dropped me the week after actually, and I hadn’t told anyone [about the diagnosis]. I ended up telling them a few weeks later as it was quite hard. He left me out. I wasn’t very good the last weekend."

“I don’t want sympathy or anything," he said. “I just thought even if I did speak to someone about it, it’s not going to help Aiden. I don’t think it would have helped me. The big concern now is because you’re getting a bit older – 50 years of age,  he’s 20 – what happens when you’re not here? That’s the thing that’s on my mind now all the time.

“There are times when it’s not in your head, it’s like anything, then there’s certain times when … you do start speaking about it, it’s at the front of your mind."

Scholes, however, will continue to work as the pundit for TNT Sports as the role doesn’t call for extensive travel on matchdays.

“Don’t get me wrong, he [Aiden] can be so happy it’s untrue and he gives you great pleasure and joy. It’s not all bad. There was a time last year I took him away and he kept feeling his mouth and not sleeping and I had no idea what was wrong with him. He kept doing it and doing it. I put numbing gel on his lips… he can’t tell you what’s wrong or if he’s got pain anywhere.

“He won’t go to a dentist. He won’t sit there and have someone open his mouth. He just can’t do it. We got him to a special needs dentist and they had to put him to sleep with gas. He had to have fillings. His mouth was an absolute mess. He had to have an operation. He hasn’t got a clue what is going on. It’s horrible, it’s a nightmare. But he can’t tell you what pain he’s in. That must have been going on for eight or nine months. Imagine having toothache for nine months."

“Everything I’m going to do now just works around him [Aiden]" Scholes added. “I do studio work, but everything is built around his day. Last season on Thursday nights I’d do the Europa League for United. That’s the night I’d usually have him, so he was getting all agitated, biting and scratching. He knows the pattern isn’t there straight away. And I did that for years really, always thinking I’ve got to stop this at some point, so I had the chance to do the podcast and I thought that would suit me more, Well not me, [it would suit] Aiden."

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