Paul Scholes has apologised after being handed an £8,000 fine from the Football Association for breaching rules on betting.

The Manchester United legend placed 140 bets on football matches between 17 August 2015 and 12 January 2019, when he had a 10% stake in Salford City.

"I would like to apologise and I understand and fully accept the fine imposed by the FA," said Scholes.

"It was a genuine mistake and was not done with any deliberate intention to flout the rules.

"I wrongly believed that as long as there was no personal connection between me and any of the matches that I bet upon, then there would be no issue.

"However I understand now that this is not the case and I should have taken steps to verify this at the time."

None of the bets actually involved Salford.

However, it’s now been revealed that eight bets involved Manchester United. Scholes spent his entire professional career at Old Trafford and Class of ’92 friends Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt were working at the club at the time.

Scholes is often heard criticising his former side so we wouldn't be surprised if each of those bets were on them to lose...

He also placed one bet on Valencia, when fellow Class of ’92 members Gary Neville (manager) and Phil Neville (coach) were working there.

The match in question? Barcelona 7-0 Valencia.

The bet? Valencia to win.

Oh dear.

He also placed eight bets involving FA Cup matches, although the bets were placed after Salford had already been knocked out.

In total, Scholes staked £26,159 and made a profit of £5,831.

Although after his £8,000 fine, Scholes will now be out of pocket from his betting antics.