Paul Scholes: Former Manchester United midfielder comes out of retirement to play in India's Premier Futsal league

The 41-year-old midfielder joins the likes of Deco and futsal legend Falcao in the competition

Scholes previously came out of retirement in 2012 (Getty)

Paul Scholes, the former Manchester United midfielder, has come out of retirement once again to play in India’s top futsal league.

The 41-year-old veteran’s decision was announced by the Premier Futsal league’s social media channels on Thursday morning.

Scholes is one of several prominent names to become associated with the first-ever multi-national futsal league.

Deco, formerly of Chelsea, will also play in the competition and the one-time Barcelona and Real Madrid winger Luis Figo is the league’s president.

The man recognised as the world’s best futsal player, Falcão, will also take part and Virat Kohli, the India international cricketer, has been named as one of Premier Futsal’s brand ambassadors.

The competition will see eight city-based ‘franchises’ compete over a 3-week period to be crowned the inaugural Premier Futsal league champions.

Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues over the course of glittering 21-year-long association with United, initially retired from football in 2011.

The following year, the then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson persuaded him to re-join the squad and provide cover in central midfield.

Scholes stayed on until the end of the 2012/13 season and made a total of 718 appearances for the club after graduating from the youth team in 1994.

Since permanently hanging up his football boots three years ago, Scholes has mainly worked as a pundit for BT Sport and has gained a reputation for his forthright analysis.

The former midfielder was one of the most vocal critics of Louis van Gaal, who was sacked last month following two years of underachievement at Old Trafford.

Scholes has since backed the appointment of Jose Mourinho, Van Gaal's successor, who he belives will bring an entertaining style of play back to United.

"The fans at Man United demand entertaining football and I'm sure Mourinho will come and try and give it," he said in May.

"I think Mourinho will have watched [Van Gaal's final year] closely and will have seen what happened," he added. "He's a top manager, he's proven that before and hopefully he can do that again."