Brighton midfielder Steve Sidwell says Manchester United legend Paul Scholes was his toughest opponent.
Sidwell, 33, has enjoyed spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa during his career.
Asked about his toughest opponent, he told the Daily Mail: "Paul Scholes by a mile. (Cristiano) Ronaldo was unreal, sensational the two years before he left for Madrid, but year in, year out, every game, it was Scholesy.
"Just because you couldn't get near him. Whenever did you see Paul Scholes get tackled for a start? Whenever did you see him lose possession? You didn't. It was just hard to be better than him on the day.
"You couldn't get the ball off him because when you get tight, he passes the ball off first touch. When you get tight again, he passes it off first touch. The moment you don't get tight because you think he's going to pop it off first time, he then turns round, has two or three touches, sprays it 30 yards, Giggs crosses it and Ruud van Nistelrooy puts it in the back of the net. He made it so simple.
"The biggest compliment you can pay him – and I've seen a lot of world class players pay Scholesy respect – was when I was at Arsenal and you're talking about the team that was there then with the likes of Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp, that Arsenal team plan was to stop Paul Scholes from running the game. And that's coming from the big boys."