Topics: Paul Scholes, Manchester United, Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes didn't hesitate when naming the modern football player who is most like Zinedine Zidane.
Scholes played in largely the same era as Zidane, with his first retirement being announced five years after Zidane had quit professional football in 2006.
Zidane once described Scholes as his toughest-ever opponent, with the Frenchman coming up against his midfield rival in Champions League clashes.
The pair are known as two of the greatest midfielders of their generation, and were both prolific goalscorers throughout their careers as well.
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Scholes' experiences, which include 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies, perhaps make him the ideal person to judge which midfielder from the current era is closest to Zidane.
The France icon, who won the 1998 Ballon d'Or, was renowned as a playmaker who controlled games in midfield and also popped up with regular goals.
His most famous strike was in the 2002 Champions League final, a volley on his weaker left foot from 18 yards in Real's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Speaking to The Guardian in August 2024, Scholes named Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo as the player that he believes most resembles Zidane in the modern day.
Mainoo has made a name for himself playing in largely a defensive midfield role for United, though initially started out in the youth team as a striker, much like Scholes himself.
The 20-year-old was played in the role briefly by Amorim in a 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace, but the experiment was curtailed after he suffered an injury in the very next match against Leicester.
But it is in midfield where Scholes believes his future really lies.
He said: "He's the nearest thing I've seen to Zidane, in taking a ball, receiving the ball, cruising past people.
"I heard there was a young lad holding his own against Casemiro in training, sometimes better than him. But you have to go out and do it.
"The first time I saw him, I remember that calmness. The way he received the ball with confidence; I just couldn't believe such a young player could do that."
"That calmness didn't come for me as quick as it did for Kobbie," he continued. "I'd say it came five or six years into my career. That's why it amazes me.
"He's so relaxed, the game's so easy to him. It's almost like poetry in motion."
