[6][7] Scholes represented the England national team from 1997 to 2004, gaining 66 caps and participating in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2000 and 2004 UEFA European Championships.

[14] Scholes turned professional on 23 July 1993 but did not make his breakthrough into the senior squad until the 1994–95 season, when he made seventeen league appearances and scored five goals.

His league debut came three days later against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, a game which United lost 3–2 and Scholes scored a consolation goal.

[30] On 22 October 2006, in the 2–0 victory over Liverpool, Scholes became the ninth United player to play in 500 matches, joining Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes and Ryan Giggs.

[34] One of his finest performances of the season came in a 4–1 win against Blackburn Rovers, where United were 1–0 down but Scholes "got hold of the game by the scruff of the neck" and scored the equalising goal.

[35][36] On 3 March 2007, in a 1–0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, Scholes was dismissed for swinging an arm at Xabi Alonso; John O'Shea scored the winning goal in injury time.

[citation needed] Scholes suffered knee ligament damage during a training session the night before United's Champions League Group F match with Dynamo Kyiv on 23 October 2007, and was out of action until the end of January 2008.

[49] Scholes began the 2010–11 season strongly, displaying man of the match performances against Chelsea in the 2010 Community Shield on 8 August[50] and eight days later in the opening fixture of the new league campaign against Newcastle United as he assisted two goals in a 3–0 home victory.

However, the club had been going through an injury crisis in midfield, and, on 8 January 2012, Scholes made his comeback as a substitute in a 3–2 win over neighbours Manchester City in the 2011–12 FA Cup.

[58] Scholes made his first start in the next game against Bolton Wanderers, where he scored his first goal since returning in a 3–0 victory at Old Trafford, converting a Wayne Rooney pass.

[60] On 8 April, he scored in a 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford, helping United to go eight points clear of rivals Manchester City in the Premier League.

[68] Scholes made two further appearances for Royton Town, once against Poulton in the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield,[69] and in the reverse league fixture against Stockport Georgians.

[citation needed] His international career continued after England's elimination from the World Cup by Argentina after a penalty shoot-out in the first knock-out round.

[74] Scholes announced his retirement from international football in August 2004, citing his family life and his club career with Manchester United as being more important.

[78] Scholes was highly regarded for his technical skills, and renowned for his accurate passing, intelligent movement and powerful shooting from long range.

[79][80] In an interview with FourFourTwo, Scholes admitted to not being blessed with notable pace or dribbling skills, and attributed his calmness and ability to retain possession under pressure to having a sharp brain, excellent awareness, and good link-up play.

[84][85] In addition, the potential for malicious intent in some of his tackles was raised,[86] and it has been suggested that he escaped greater censure due to the admiration that many have for the rest of his game.

[89] Many of Scholes' peers,[90][91][92] including Ronaldinho,[93][94][95][96][97][98] Andrés Iniesta,[99] Luís Figo, Edgar Davids,[93][94][95][97][98] Arjen Robben,[100] Patrick Vieira, Juan Sebastián Verón,[93][94][95][97][98] Deco[101] and Xabi Alonso,[102] have spoken about their admiration for his talent.

"[91] Several former teammates including Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney have revealed his nickname in the Manchester United dressing room was 'SatNav' (an abbreviation of Satellite Navigation) due to the accuracy of his long-range passing.

"[111] Former Juventus midfielder and Italy captain Andrea Pirlo selected him as the only English player in his dream Champions League XI and commented, "You could see every pass, every decision, was based on his intelligence and understanding.

"[92][90] In May 2008, Italy and former Juventus manager Marcello Lippi commented, "he combines great talent and technical ability with mobility, determination and a superb shot.

"[90] In August 2010, BBC football pundit and former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen described him as "one of the top three to five players to have ever played in the Premier League", and commented, "His passing, movement and technique set examples to everyone.

[92][118] Many, including Scholes' national teammates, have said that he was one of the few English players capable of "pulling the strings" in midfield, controlling the tempo, reading and dictating the flow of the game, and distributing the play where England often have been criticized for being nervous on the ball and giving away possession.

[127][128] Having previously informally helped out Nicky Butt with the Manchester United under-19 team during the first half of the 2013–14 season, Scholes agreed to join the United first-team coaching staff on a temporary basis after the dismissal of David Moyes until the end of the season as a favour to friend and former teammate Ryan Giggs,[129] following the latter's appointment as interim player-manager on 23 April 2014.

[132] On 14 March, Scholes resigned as manager, having won one of his seven games in charge,[133] following interference from club owner Abdallah Lemsagam in first-team affairs.

[135] Scholes' first game in charge was a 1–0 defeat to Port Vale on 17 October,[136] and he quickly ruled out taking the position on a permanent basis, citing the need for a more experienced manager.

In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".

[158] With regard to his shunning of celebrity, and instead keeping to his intention to solely focus on doing his job ("a professional footballer"), Keane applauded Scholes after his retirement.

In June 2019, he was fined and warned over his future conduct by The Football Association (FA) after placing bets worth £26,159 on matches during his time as a director of Salford City.

[159] In an interview given before Euro 2004, Scholes described his ideal day as "train in the morning, pick up my children from school, play with them, have tea, put them to bed and then watch a bit of TV".