Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has been branded a "dirty b*****d" by his old teammate Nicky Butt following some shocking revelations about his festive eating habits.
The Red Devils legend left Butt and presenter Paddy McGuinness utterly gobsmacked during an appearance on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast when he disclosed his unconventional approach to Christmas dinner.
Scholes confessed to smothering his brussels sprouts in ketchup alongside gravy, a combination that proved too much for his fellow podcast guests to stomach.
The admission sparked an immediate and visceral reaction from Butt, who wasted no time in expressing his horror at his former Old Trafford colleague's culinary choices.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
The United icon revealed his love for the divisive vegetable, explaining that he enjoys them doused in both ketchup and gravy.
"I love sprouts. I like sprouts with ketchup. Ketchup and gravy," Scholes said.
However, his confessions took an even more unusual turn when he described a childhood tradition from visits to his grandmother's home.
Nicky Butt was clearly appalled by Paul Scholes' Christmas dinner choice
|X
"We used to go to my nannas house when I was a kid. You know obviously the juice? She used to tip that into a cup and drink that as well," he explained.
Scholes went on to describe the liquid as "the sprout juice" and compared it to "cabbage water" – a revelation that left his podcast companions thoroughly bewildered.
McGuinness made clear he would not tolerate such behaviour at his own festive gathering.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Five facts about the Premier League | GETTY/GBNEWS/PA"That's a bit weird. In fact if you were at my house on Christmas Day and you started putting ketchup on your Christmas dinner I would f*** you straight off. That would be you gone," the host declared.
Butt was equally unimpressed, dismissing the vegetable entirely before delivering his damning verdict on his former teammate.
"Weird. Sprouts are fing disgusting. Dirty b*****d," Butt responded.
The exchange highlighted just how strongly the duo felt about Scholes' unconventional festive food preferences, with neither man showing any sympathy for his choices.
Scholes is not the only former England international with eyebrow-raising Christmas dinner preferences, however.
Wayne Rooney has also drawn criticism for his unconventional festive plate, with his choices prompting cries of "first red flag for me" during an interview with BBC Sport.
Paul Scholes played for Manchester United for almost 20 years | PA"Mushy peas, sweetcorn, carrot, turnip, turkey. I have new potatoes, I don't like roast potatoes. Broccoli and cauliflower," the former striker revealed.
When questioned about the absence of gravy and whether his meal would be dry, Rooney defended his approach.
"It's just messy. I just use the juices off the vegetables," he explained.
The revelation suggests unconventional Christmas dinner habits may be more common among football legends than previously thought.