Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has opened up about his decision to step away from his punditry role at TNT Sports to focus on caring for his non-verbal autistic son, Aiden.
The 49-year-old former midfielder, now a familiar voice on The Overlap’s “Stick to Football” podcast, said the move was motivated by Aiden’s strict daily routine and the need to prioritize his well-being.
“I made a decision this year because of Aiden, obviously due to his special needs,” Scholes said on the podcast. “All the work I do now fits around his routines because he has quite a strict one every single day. I just decided everything I’m going to do is around Aiden.”
Scholes explained that he now cares for Aiden, 20, three nights a week and has restructured his professional life accordingly. His previous Thursday night punditry commitments for Manchester United’s Europa League matches often disrupted Aiden’s routine, leaving him “agitated, biting, and scratching” whenever Scholes was away.
“Last season, I’d do the Europa League on Thursday nights—that’s the night I’d usually have him,” he shared. “He notices straight away when the pattern’s off. I did that for years, always thinking I’d have to stop at some point. When the podcast opportunity came, I thought it would work better—not just for me, but for Aiden.”
Scholes, who shares three children—Arron (25), Alicia (23), and Aiden—with his ex-wife Claire, has long been open about the challenges of raising a child with autism.
In a 2021 BBC documentary hosted by Paddy McGuinness, he candidly recalled his initial struggles to accept Aiden’s diagnosis, admitting he once hoped his son would eventually “grow out of it.”
“For those first few years after being diagnosed, you think he’s just delayed and will start talking eventually,” he said. “But when he reached 12, 13, 14… now he’s 16, you realize it’s not going to happen. He’s never going to be neurotypical—but he’s amazing, and you have to accept it.”
Scholes also revealed how the diagnosis once affected his focus on the pitch. “We got the diagnosis before a game against Derby away,” he recalled. “I was terrible, absolutely shocking. I didn’t want to be there—my head was gone.”
His heartfelt revelation has drawn widespread admiration, with fans and fellow professionals praising him for choosing family over fame and for shedding light on the realities of parenting a child with autism.
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