Paul Scholes has responded to his former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney after the latter said he wouldn't accept the 2012 Premier League title if Manchester City were stripped of it.

Since the bombshell legal verdict that found Man City guilty of the vast majority of the 115 charges made against them by the Premier League, there has been much debate over how City's illustrious period from 2009-2018 should be judged.

Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea have publicly called for the 2011-12 prize to be added to their medal collection but Rooney said Man United do not 'deserve' to be awarded it.

Now Scholes has weighed in. The midfielder uploaded a punchy Instagram story in response to Rooney saying: 'Keep hearing ex-team-mates saying they want trophies taking off them but they don't want their medals... f*** that I'm a greedy b*****d I want my medal.'

Rooney took to his YouTube show, Stick to United, to explain that if City were to lose their titles he would not want a Premier League winners' medal for the 2011-12 campaign in which United only missed out on the title on goal difference. 

'I have heard Rio has come out saying about getting another Premier League medal... I wouldn't really feel comfortable accepting another Premier League medal, if I'm being honest,' he said. 

'I don't think we deserve it, we didn't do enough that season to win the league. I think we were six or seven points clear with four or five games to go and we threw it away.'

'I've seen everything that has come out over the past few days and listening to people and I was putting myself in a Man City player's shoes... they're players, they're doing everything they can to try and win the Premier League title and in their mind they have done it, if those players have no understanding of what is going on above them, if that happened to me... I would be absolutely devastated.

'It might happen, they might take them [medals] away, but I wouldn't want it [a medal] because I don't think as a team we deserved it that year because obviously we didn't finish first. 

'So when I see team-mates saying "I want a medal", I'm happy with the five I've won. I wouldn't want this one. Should they get it stripped for what the owners have done? Yeah maybe, but I wouldn't feel comfortable accepting it.' 

Scholes already has eleven Premier League winners medals in his trophy cabinet with him and Rooney winning five top-flight titles together.

Man City confirmed they have lodged an appeal against the guilty verdict on Friday.

In a statement, they said: 'The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe. 

'The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.

'We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.'

New Premier League rules state that a hearing must be held within 12 weeks of an appeal being lodged, with a decision due within 30 days of the hearing, which can only last five days, concluding.

Daily Mail Sport reported on Thursday that City will attempt to prove their innocence by arguing that the government of Abu Dhabi – rather than the club’s owners – part-funded ‘sham’ sponsorship.