Scholes demands 2012 title medal as Rooney refuses to accept City's potential strip

Paul Scholes has declared he wants a Premier League medal from the 2011-12 season should Manchester City be stripped of the title, directly contradicting former team-mate Wayne Rooney, who says he would refuse to accept one.

City were found guilty of 114 of 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial rules, covering a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. An independent commission delivered its verdict in February 2023, and while City have appealed and continue to deny all charges, the prospect of having trophies redistributed to runners-up remains a live possibility.

Scholes made his position clear in an Instagram post. “Keep hearing ex-teammates saying they want trophies taking off them but they don’t want their medals,” he wrote. “F that — I’m a greedy b*** I want my medal.” Rio Ferdinand and David de Gea have also indicated they would welcome medals from that season.

Rooney, United’s all-time top scorer, took the opposite view on the Stick To United podcast. “I wouldn’t really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I’m being honest,” he said. “I don’t think we deserve it — we didn’t do enough that season to win the league. I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.”

Rooney also expressed sympathy for City’s players, arguing they competed in good faith regardless of what was happening at boardroom level. “They’re players, they’re doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title and in their mind they have done it,” he said. “If those players have no understanding of what is going on above them, if that happened to me… I would be absolutely devastated.”

He added that he was content with the five league titles he won during his career and had no desire to add a sixth through a retrospective ruling. “I wouldn’t want this one because I don’t think as a team we deserved it that year — obviously we didn’t finish first.”

City’s appeal against the commission’s findings is ongoing, meaning no sanctions have yet been imposed. The 2011-12 title race remains one of the most dramatic in Premier League history, with City snatching the championship from United on goal difference on the final day.