When retired veteran Paul Scholes was recalled to Manchester United by Alex Ferguson, the 37-year-old club legend needed to pop into a local sports shop for a pair of boots.
Scholes had given away his last pair of match boots when he retired last year.
He kept only a pair of old boots that he used when coaching United's young players, but did not think they would be good enough for an English Premier League match.
Instead of doing what any other professional would do and calling a sponsor to deliver a new pair, Scholes went to a sports shop near his home and bought a pair of match boots for £40.
According to former Olympic runner Marcello Fiasconaro, a consultant for adidas, a new pair of boots for a Premier League player would cost between £180 and £200.
"That's for a pair of adidas Predator boots, or the Lionel Messi adidas F50," said Fiasconaro, who represented Italy in the 400m at the 1992 Olympics.
Scholes scored a goal in his new boots when Man U beat Bolton 3-2 in the FA Cup on Saturday.
It was his first goal since his inauspicious return to help United, who are short of midfielders.
However, Sunday papers in Britain reported the day after the Scholes goal that the club's two highly rated young midfielders, Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison, were unhappy at being overlooked. Neither the players nor the club has responded and the claims have been dismissed as "agent-driven".
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