scholes came through the manchester united youth academy as one of fergie's fledglings (a group of players recruited by manchester united under the management of sir alex ferguson). scholes made his full debut for manchester united in the 1994–95 season. he went on to make 718 appearances for united, the third-highest number of appearances by any player for the club. scholes announced his retirement from playing in may 2011 and was appointed as a coach at manchester united. however, he returned to playing in january 2012, and went on to play one more season for the club before retiring again in may 2013. with united, scholes won 25 trophies including 11 premier league titles (more than any other english player) and two uefa champions league titles.