Paul Scholes admits 'stupid' row with Sir Alex Ferguson could have seen him sold by Manchester United in 2001

Old Trafford legend reflects on spat with manager a decade ago when he refused to play in League Cup tie against Arsenal, having been dropped for previous game against Liverpool.

Paul Scholes has admitted he "could have no complaints" if he had been sold by Manchester United following his infamous fall-out with Sir Alex Ferguson a decade ago. The United legend refused to play after being selected in a weakened team featuring mostly fringe players and youngsters for a November 2001 League Cup defeat against Arsenal a day after being dropped for a Premier League loss to Liverpool.Scholes spoke publicly for the first time about the most controversial incident of his glittering United career ahead of his testimonial next Friday at Old Trafford against a New York Cosmos side coached by Eric Cantona.

"It was something I regretted doing, obviously," recalled Scholes. "I wasn't in a great mood I suppose. I had been left out of the Liverpool game. We were playing Arsenal the night after and you knew it was just the reserves, basically, that was going down to Arsenal. "I just got a bee in my bonnet that I wasn't happy with it [and thought], 'I'm not going'. A silly thing to do, I know that. But I had reasons for it. Stupid, really."

Scholes said he apologised to Ferguson soon afterwards and was fined "a week or two" worth of wages but admitted he was fortunate to survive the fall-out with the manager, while others who have crossed swords with the Scot - such as David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy - were less fortunate. "He would have been well within his rights to get rid of me, really," reflected the retired midfielder. "Someone refusing to play for his team. I couldn't have had any complaints. "It was one of those things I definitely regret doing. It was stupid. It scares me to talk about it."

The 36-year-old said there were no other occasions during his 676-match United career in which he refused to play and could recall only one other time when he fell out with Ferguson. The famously shy Scholes said: "There was maybe one argument in the dressing room and that is about it. "I don't really say a lot, do I? I only would say something if I disagreed with him, which maybe only happened once or twice."

Scholes retired in the wake of United's Champions League final defeat to Barcelona at the end of May and will take up a coaching role at the club where he spent his entire career, the exact nature of which will be confirmed in the coming weeks during talks with Ferguson.