England netball star Alicia Scholes has posted an emotional social media tribute to her father Paul following his candid discussion about raising her younger brother Aiden, who has severe autism.
The 24-year-old athlete shared her feelings on Instagram after the Manchester United legend appeared on the Stick to Football podcast, where he discussed the challenges of caring for his non-verbal son.
“God knows how hard that episode must’ve been!!!!! We love you so much,” Alicia wrote to her 100,000-plus followers.
The former midfielder had spoken openly about his fears for Aiden’s future and the difficulties of balancing elite football with raising a neuro-diverse child.
Alicia Scholes paid a touching tribute to her father Paul Scholes
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The 50-year-old revealed he has restructured his professional commitments around his son’s needs, stepping away from regular television broadcasting duties.
“I made a decision this year because of Aiden, obviously due to his special needs you might know about,” Scholes explained on the podcast.
“All the work I do now is just around his routines because he has quite a strict routine every single day, so I just decided everything I’m going to do it is around Aiden.”
The former England international detailed Aiden’s weekly schedule, which includes Tuesday swimming sessions followed by pizza, Thursday meals out, and Sunday visits to Tesco where the 20-year-old fills a trolley with chocolate.
Alicia’s Instagram post revealed deep admiration for her father’s dedication to family life despite his sporting achievements.
“I’ve never known anyone hate talking about themself more than you and can only imagine how hard it was speaking about Aidie and the reality of a very, very hard situation,” she wrote.
The London Pulse player emphasised how her father balanced his career with parenting duties: “My whole life your priority has always been being my dad and growing up realising how hard you had to work everyday alongside that is something I can’t even comprehend.”
She noted that despite winning 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies, Scholes remained present for school runs and daily family life.
Former England captain David Beckham responded to Alicia’s post with supportive words: “Perfect words for your amazing dad.”
The netball player, who represents England and helped London Pulse secure their first Netball Super Cup victory in July, also opened up about the difficulties of carrying her father’s famous surname.
She described facing heightened scrutiny, with critics suggesting she only succeeded because of her father’s reputation rather than her own dedication.
“I’ve had everything I do have more attention than it should, being judged 10x harder and criticised 10x more,” she revealed in her post.
