After a short time as a free agent, he transferred to Bundesliga veteran club Hamburger SV in August 2012, before returning to Wigan Athletic on loan in January 2013 - winning the FA Cup.

[2] 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 seasons Before receiving his first professional contract with the club, he again took part in two friendly matches in February 1999, before making his debut in the Austrian Bundesliga on 24 April in a home game against SV Ried, which the Austria won 3:0.

[4] Similar to the last season, Scharner played the first team only in friendly matches at the beginning, before returning to the Bundesliga in the eleventh round on 11 September against GAK as a substitute, in mid October against SW Bregenz as a time stoppage and in late November against LASK Linz.

[6] To further develop his skills and to give him more minutes, Scharner was loaned to then-Austria affiliate club SG Untersiebenbrunn in the Erste Liga from July to October 2001,[7][8] where he scored five goals in 16 league matches and also played in the ÖFB-Cup.

[citation needed] He returned to his club in November and started getting minutes by the end of the month, playing against Rapid Wien, SV Salzburg and FC Kärnten.

He made his first goal for Austria Wien in a professional competition, opening the scoring in a Bundesliga match against Sturm Graz on 30 March.

[14] After being kicked by Joachim Löw, Scharner transferred to relegation battler SV Salzburg in January to help them for the rest of the season.

He made a total of 13 league games for Salzburg that season, 4 of which were won and three tied, scoring two goals, against Wacker Mödling and Bregenz, respectively.

[16] In his short stint with Salzburg that season, Scharner made a total of five league matches, scoring one goal against Bregenz and receiving one yellow and one yellow/red card.

The following year, he developed himself into a starter for the Norwegian side, playing 29 games while scoring five goals and receiving four yellow cards.

[19] After finishing the 2005 season with SK Brann, Scharner signed a 3.5-year deal with Wigan Athletic on 22 December 2005, and joined the squad after the holidays.

In his first match for Wigan, Scharner scored the winning goal against Arsenal in the League Cup at the JJB Stadium.

He quickly emerged as a starter, playing all games from the 22nd round onwards, scoring three goals while receiving five yellow cards.

Again, Paul Scharner was a vital part of the team, starting in almost every game of the season, while scoring four goals and receiving six yellow cards.

After a 5–0 defeat to Manchester United, Wigan manager Roberto Martínez preferred to use Scharner in an attacking midfield role.

Scharner was a part of the team in November 2009 that suffered a historical 9–1 loss at the hands of Tottenham, scoring Wigan's only goal in the fixture although, when controlling the ball prior to shooting, he appeared to handle it.

[29] On 30 August 2010, Scharner joined newly promoted Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on a two-year deal, having been a free agent since his release by Wigan.

[31] He made the switch to West Brom with the intent of no longer playing in central defence when manager Roberto Di Matteo told him he will be used as a midfielder.

[33] After not meeting a clause in his contract that would trigger a twelve-month extension, Scharner announced on 8 May that he would be leaving West Brom in the summer and search for a new challenge.

[37] After four senior Bundesliga appearances in the 2012–13 season with Hamburg, Scharner was signed on loan by former club Wigan Athletic, on transfer deadline day.

[13] His former coach at West Brom, Roberto Di Matteo, describes Scharner as follows: "Paul is a powerful, competitive player who is good on the ball, excellent in both boxes, can play in numerous positions and also chips in with goals.

"[37] His HSV coach Thorsten Fink said, regarding his leadership abilities: "Paul is the type who never hides, who always leads the way and who will be there for the team especially in close situations.

"[46] Scharner's disputes with coaches at both club and international level have brought him media attention: a 2012 feature in Österreich described him as "still an awkward customer" (German: Er ist und bleibt ein Querkopf).

[41] In 2003, his refusal to come on as a substitute to play on the right of midfield led Austria Wien coach Joachim Löw to suspend him from the team.

Although claimed to be an enfant terrible, he was lauded for having an ability of self-examination, and for being "a leading figure, an idol and a resourceful member of the team".

[47] In England, he is remembered largely for his professionalism, focus and his energetic performances, as well as his close relationship and identification with the fans of his former teams.

He has received vocational education in the field of electrical engineering and lists skiing, reading, motorcycling and billiards as his personal interests.