Ex-Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville (Picture: Getty) Gary Neville believes England ‘abused’ the talent of Paul Scholes for ‘f*****g years’ and risk doing the same with current star Phil Foden. Scholes is considered one of Manchester United’s greatest ever players, having made more than 700 appearances for the club across 20 years at Old Trafford. The legendary midfielder lifted a staggering 11 Premier League titles at United and also won two Champions Leagues and three FA Cups. Despite his remarkable club career, Scholes struggled to make a huge impact for England, making 66 appearances – almost half some of his club teammates – and choosing to retire in 2004, almost a decade before hanging up his boots for good. Sven-Goran Eriksson was accused of failing to get the best out of Scholes and Neville believes his former United teammate would have thrived if Glenn Hoddle had stayed in charge for longer. Often playing out of position, Scholes’ ability was essentially ‘abused’ by England, according to Neville, who sees similarities with current England star Foden. Foden’s place in the England team has once again come under scrutiny after two underwhelming performances during the international break in Thomas Tuchel’s first games in charge. Phil Foden has faced criticism while playing for England (Picture: Getty) Foden has also struggled for Premier League champions Manchester City this season, but Neville insists he would never leave the 24-year-old out of the England team. ‘What happens with players like Phil Foden is because he’s so flexible and versatile, he does get moved around,’ Neville said on The Overlap. ‘He plays on both wings and No. 10. It does happen. It was the same with Scholesy. It’s the old age thing with England. Paul Scholes largely underwhelmed for England (Picture: Getty) ‘Some players have to be in form to play, others will get picked regardless. Harry Kane, it doesn’t matter if he hasn’t scored in five games, he’s going to play for England, fact. ‘Alan Shearer was the same. Phil Foden should be that player for me. I have a very high opinion of Phil Foden. ‘For him to just get into this Man City team over the last however many years is an absolute feat in itself. For England, in my opinion, he is level with Jude Bellingham. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page ‘I saw England do to Paul Scholes exactly what we’re doing with Phil Foden. He played his best football for England under Glenn Hoddle with three in midfield, he was perfect in that system. ‘Under Sven we played a rigid 4-4-2. We abused him for f*****g years and ended up retiring him because the system was rigid and wasn’t staying. ‘If Hoddle had stayed as manager, Scholes would have played 100 games for England.’ Foden is a serial winner with Manchester City (Picture: Getty) Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Jamie Carragher disagreed with Neville’s assessment of Foden and claimed he has not taken his chances in a Three Lions shirt. Gareth Southgate relied heavily on Foden at last summer’s Euros but he failed to replicate the form that had just seen him win the PFA Player of the Season award. ‘When I see Phil Foden play, he just seems like a shy lad, which is fine,’ Carragher said. ‘I don’t think he has got that arrogance for England the same way Jude Bellingham does. ‘That holds him back a little bit. He has been tried in every position, but he just hasn’t performed. ‘Phil Foden has played every position for England, and he just hasn’t done anything. We all love him and he’s amazing for Manchester City, but he hasn’t done it for England. ‘He hasn’t done enough. He got picked at a similar time to Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, but those two grabbed their chance and took it.’ Foden has already lifted six Premier League trophies with Manchester City, the club he first joined at the age of four. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.