Paul Scholes Snubs Rice and Caicedo When Naming Top Five Midfielders in Football

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes overlooked Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo when naming his top five midfielders in world football.

During his career, Scholes won 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, among other trophies.

The Englishman will forever be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders to ever grace a football pitch.

In total, Scholes made 718 appearances for United, scoring 155 goals in the process. He also has 14 goals in 66 matches for England.

Since retiring, Scholes became a pundit and is often spotted on Premier League Productions and TNT Sports.

Recently, Scholes picked out five midfielders that he feels are among the best in the world; however, Arsenal man Rice and Chelsea star Caicedo, who have been two of the stand out midfielders in the Premier League, missed the cut.

Speaking on an episode of 'The Good, The Bad and The Football' podcast, Scholes named Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister, Paris Saint Germain man Vitinha and Manchester City's Rodri as the five best midfielders in the world.

Speaking about Pedri, Scholes claimed that the young Spaniard is a combination of the legendary duo Xavi and Andreas Iniesta.

He said: "When I was a player, I'd go home and watch Barcelona on Saturday and Real Madrid on Sunday. And I watched Pedri the other night and just thought wow. He was like Xavi and Iniesta in one."

Paul Scholes is a big fan of Pedri. Image: Getty

Scholes said of Rodri: "He won the Ballon d'Or two years ago. He's not started the season well, but he's had that horriffic injury. He was by far the best midfielder the year he won the Ballon d'Or. I think City are struggling to keep the ball because he's not up to speed physically yet."

Scholes also heaped praise on Liverpool's Mac Allister, stating that he 'controlled everything' when the Reds beat United at Old Trafford last season.

He added: "I thought he was brilliant last year for Liverpool. I saw him up close in a league game at Old Trafford and he controlled everything."

Touching on PSG star Vitinha, who was third in the 2025 Ballon d'Or standings, Scholes said: "He was sensational for PSG last year in the Champions League and Club World Cup, even though they got beaten in the final."