Nottingham Forest midfielder James Ward-Prowse revealed Paul Scholes was his toughest ever opponent, despite only playing against him for 30 minutes.
Having played in almost 400 Premier League fixtures, Ward-Prowse has gone toe-to-toe with some of the greatest midfielders of all time.
The 11-time England international has faced the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Kevin De Bruyne, yet one name stood out to Ward-Prowse as his most difficult rival.
In a TikTok video uploaded by Nottingham Forest, Ward-Prowse named Manchester United icon Scholes as his toughest opponent.
However, a dig through the archives shows Ward-Prowse shared the pitch with Scholes for just 30 minutes.
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Their encounter occurred in September 2012 as United travelled to St Mary’s to face the Saints, who had just been promoted from the Championship.
A 17-year-old Ward-Prowse started the game in midfield alongside Morgan Schneiderlin and Steven Davis.
Scholes, 37 at the time, entered the contest in the 61st minute in place of Tom Cleverley.
Southampton led United 2-1 until the 87th minute, when Dutch star Robin van Persie scored an equaliser before scoring the winner just five minutes later.
Scholes would retire for the second time at the end of the season, helping United to win the Premier League title in what would be Sir Alex Ferguson‘s last season at the helm.
Even though he faced Scholes for just 30 minutes, Ward-Prowse is not alone in players who declared the 11-time Premier League winner as their most difficult opponent.
Iconic French midfielder Zinedine Zidane previously described Scholes as ‘undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation’, while Arsenal great Thierry Henry labelled Scholes ‘the best player in the Premiership’.
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Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs also lavished praise on Scholes, stating the midfielder ‘is the best player I’ve played with’ at the club.
Later in the video, Ward-Prowse names another Manchester United icon has his footballing idol.
Given the 29-year-old’s proficiency on set-pieces, his answer should not come as much of a surprise.
Ward-Prowse stated David Beckham was his hero growing up, a player who was one of the world’s deadliest when it came to set pieces.
The Forest midfielder also said his favourite meal was a Big Mac from McDonald’s, Gavin and Stacey was his top TV series and his England debut as his proudest moment in football.
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