Paul Scholes has opened up on how his life centres around his 20-year-old son, Aiden, who is non-verbal due to autism – with the Manchester United icon sharing how ‘everything is built around his day’
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
08:00, 30 Oct 2025
Paul Scholes has opened up on his decision to leave commentary(Image: Getty Images)
Paul Scholes has revealed that he stepped back from commentary earlier this year to help keep a routine for his son, who has autism.
The Manchester United legend is a proud father of three in Arron, Alicia and Aiden, who are all in their 20s. Aiden was diagnosed with autism as a child and is non-verbal, with Scholes detailing in the Stick to Football podcast how much his care has impacted his career.
He said: “I made a decision this year cos of Aiden, obviously due to his special needs you might know about. All the work I do now is just around his routines cos he has quite a strict routine every single day, so I just decided everything I’m going to do it is around Aiden.”
Scholes, who had regularly worked on commentary and punditry up until this year, also revealed that he is no longer with his wife, Claire, who had been together for the past 26 years.
He added: “I’m not with Claire anymore so we have him three nights each and Claire’s mum has him on a Friday night. We always do the same things with him as he doesn’t know what day of the week it is or time.
“But he’ll know from what we’re doing what day it is. I pick him up every Tuesday from his day care and we go swimming. Loves swimming, then we get his pizza on the way home.
“Thursday pick him up, go for something to eat, go home. Sunday, I pick him up from Claire’s house and we go to Tesco where he buys a trolley full of chocolate.
“So, he doesn’t know what day or time it is, but he knows from what we’re doing what day it is. He’ll be 21 in December.”
Paul Scholes has worked in commentary in the past(Image: Getty Images)
On the extent of his son’s ‘severe autism’, Scholes explained that Aiden communicated through sound only recognisable to the people who are closest with him. He also detailed how the condition impact him during his playing days.
He said: “He’d bite your arm or scratch you just out of frustration for him cos he didn’t understand things, couldn’t tell you how he was feeling. I never got a break from it, even when playing.
“It was very hard in those days, feels like it was years ago. I don’t think they [doctors] diagnosed it til they were two-and-a-half-years-old. But you knew early something was wrong but then you get the diagnosis, and I’d never heard of it.
“Then all of a sudden you start seeing everything, I don’t know if it just consciously happens, I don’t know. I remember the first time after we were playing Derby away and I just didn’t want to be there.
“I remember the manager dropped me the week after actually, and I hadn’t told anyone [about the diagnosis]. I ended up telling them a few weeks later, I think as it was quite hard.”
Paul Scholes’ children are in their 20s now(Image: Getty Images Europe)
Nowadays, Scholes has explained that everything he does works around his son in terms of career, explaining he ditched commentary work as a result of Aiden getting agitated due to a change in routine. He explained: “Everything I’m going to do now just works around him, I do studio work, but everything is built around his day.
“Last season on Thursday nights I’d do the Europa League for Man United, that’s the night I’d usually have him, so he was getting all agitated, biting and scratching. He knows the pattern’s not there straight away.
“And I did that for years really, always thinking I’ve got to stop this at some point so I had the chance to do the podcast and I thought that would suit me more – well not me, Aiden.”
This week’s Stick to Football podcast with Paul Scholes is available now on YouTube and all leading podcast platforms.
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