Toni Kroos suggests Man Utd had third best midfielder all of time as Paul Scholes is snubbed

German World Cup winner Toni Kroos left Manchester United legend Paul Scholes out of his top three picks for the best midfielders of all time in football.

Paul Scholes’ reputation as a midfielder speaks volumes and is backed up by his silverware haul after winning 11 of Manchester United’s 13 Premier League titles.

The 51-year-old United legend made a whopping 717 appearances for the Red Devils and Scholes netted 155 times and registered 84 assists for the club.

Scholes was at the heart of the Man Utd midfield under Sir Alex Ferguson and was a key midfield influence for the Red Devils during his two spells at Old Trafford.

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Forget Paul Scholes, former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos talked up the midfield ability of ex-Man Utd star Casemiro

One of Manchester United’s famed ‘Class of ‘92’ stars, Paul Scholes is widely considered one of the best Premier League midfielders in history and of all time as well. Despite the former England international’s impact as a player, Toni Kroos overlooked Scholes and instead turned his attention to Casemiro.

Casemiro, who left Old Trafford in the summer, shared a memorable and formidable midfield dynamic with Kroos and Luka Modric at Real Madrid. The 34-year-old Brazilian midfielder was at the core of the midfield trident with Luka Modric and Kroos and hoovered up the major silverware with Los Blancos.

Casemiro lifted three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and five Champions League titles with the Spanish club before he left Madrid and completed his blockbuster move to United. Speaking on the Einfach mal Luppen podcast, Kroos admitted that Casemiro would rank at No 3 in his picks for the all-time midfielders.

“My number three is Casemiro, although [Patrick] Vieira was also in contention,” he said.

Kroos added: “Of course. If you look at his achievements, the type of player he is and how important he was to the team — something that was sometimes a little underestimated from the outside — he certainly deserves recognition.”

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United signed Casemiro in 2022 in a deal worth up to £70m and the five-time Champions League winner made a profound midfield impact in his debut season under Erik ten Hag. Kroos explained that not even former Chelsea and France midfielder N’Golo Kante could eclipse what Casemiro brought to the table.

“And this is exactly why I didn’t have Kante quite as high,” he added.

“During my time there, Luka and I — I’ll say ‘we’ — were able to watch Casemiro improve as a footballer year after year.

“What he gave both of us was obvious, of course, but seeing how much he developed technically over those years was also fantastic. That’s why, for me, he’s unquestionably in the top five, and in this case, at number three.”

Casemiro featured 160 times for United and the former Brazil international scored 26 times and picked up 14 assists in his four seasons at Old Trafford. The former Los Blancos star, who lifted the League Cup and the FA Cup with United, completed a free transfer to MLS outfit Inter Miami in the summer.