Former footballer Paul Scholes and his wife Claire sold off the incredible £3m mansion where they had brought up their children after taking the heartbreaking decision to split, the Daily Mail has learned.
The childhood sweethearts’ marriage buckled as they faced the relentless pressure of caring for their severely autistic 20-year-old son, Aiden, it emerged this week.
And that meant saying a painful farewell to the home, filled with childhood memories of their three kids, which they completely redesigned 10 years ago.
Their seven bedroom, six bathroom mansion at Saddleworth in the rugged countryside outside Oldham, Greater Manchester, went on the market in September 2020 for £3.85m.
The couple were forced to take a £700,000 hit as it sold a year later for £3.15m.
The former Man Utd midfielder and wife Claire Froggatt moved to smaller homes nearby.
Claire bought a £770,000 home in the Oldham area, which although luxurious marked a considerable step down from their previous property.
The Saddleworth home was described as ‘13,000 square feet of sheer luxury’ in the estate agent’s blurb when it was put on the market.
Former footballer Paul Scholes and his wife Claire sold off the incredible £3m mansion near Oldham, Greater Manchester
Paul and wife Claire (left), pictured with Arron and Alicia in 2013 for the Class Of 92 film, are now separated and share custody of their youngest son (not pictured)
Paul Scholes, pictured at the family gym with eldest son Arron (left) and daughter Alicia (right)
The home has no less than six reception rooms, a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym, home cinema, study and roof terrace.
Outside, the house in the village of Grasscroft had a football pitch and even a small golf course.
Marketing it at just under £4m, estate agents Kirkham Property called it ‘one of Saddleworth’s finest homes.’
Their description read: ‘Concealed away behind its gated driveway sits ‘Parklands House’ an impeccably designed property which is one of Saddleworth’s finest.
‘Its pristine presentation really makes this property stand out and is a credit to the current owners who completely refurbished and redesigned the family home in 2015.
‘Architect designed and now provides around 13,000 sq ft of pristine accommodation which can only be truly appreciated in person.
‘The complete privacy of the plot allowed the architects to use large amounts of glass throughout the property giving it a modern look and creating synergy between the internal and external spaces with plenty of natural light.
‘When viewing, it becomes evident the amount of time and consideration that has gone into this exceptional property.’
Scholes has opened up about the difficulties and joys of raising autistic son Aiden (left)
The seven bedroom, six bathroom mansion at Saddleworth in the rugged countryside outside Oldham, Greater Manchester, went on the market in September 2020 for £3.85m
The couple were forced to take a £700,000 hit as it sold a year later for £3.15m
The home has no less than six reception rooms, a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym, home cinema, study and roof terrace
News of the marriage split came as Scholes revealed that his decision to step back from television punditry was based on wanting to care for Aiden.
The 50-year-old lynchpin of Sir Alec Ferguson’s all-conquering United side opened up on the challenges and rewards of looking after him in an emotional conversation with his old team-mate Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast.
The former midfielder gave up the majority of his television work in order to build a routine with Aiden, who is non-verbal and was diagnosed with ‘severe autism’, in Scholes’ words, at the age of two-and-a-half.
‘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 told Neville and his co-hosts.
Revealing that he has separated from his childhood sweetheart Claire, who he married in 1999, Scholes said the former couple have ‘three nights each’ with him a week, with their son spending Friday night with Claire’s mum.
‘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,’ Scholes continued.
‘I pick him up every Tuesday from his daycare 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.
The former Manchester United player (pictured in 2019)
Paul and Claire met when they were 18 at his local pub in 1993 before wedding six years later, they share three children, sons Arron and Aiden, and daughter Alicia (pictured in 2012)
Sportsman: Paul spent his professional career playing for Manchester United, he enjoyed a successful stint, winning 11 Premiere League titles and 25 trophies in total (pictured in 2006)
‘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.’
Discussing his diagnosis, Scholes said: ‘When I say he can’t speak, I think he understands a lot more than we think.
‘He has sounds, but it’s only people that are close to him that will know what he’s saying.’
But Scholes has found it rewarding to share small snapshots of his life with Aiden on social media, having heard from parents who have similar experiences with their children that it can ‘help’ in difficult moments.
Scholes explained that it had been the hardest in the early days of his diagnosis, with the player often turning up for training at Carrington with bite marks or scratch marks which Aiden had given his father out of the frustration of not being understood.
‘I never got a break from it, even when playing,’ Scholes added. ‘It was very hard in those days, feels like it was years ago.’
Scholes and Claire have two other children – son Arron, 26, and daughter Alicia, 24.
The midfield schemer spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 appearances between 1993 and 2013.
Scholes won 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League titles – more than any other English player – three FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League titles.
