He held the absolutely massive carp aloft out of the water as he stood behind it – with no clothes visible.

The former footballer, now 52, had a beaming smile and was clearly delighted with his effort.

He wrote to his 33,000 Instagram followers: “Can’t beat a bit of carp fishing in Thailand 95lbs PB.”

The post had former team-mate and close pal Scholes utterly bemused.

The fellow redhead commented: “F*** me.”

Plenty of others piled into the comments congratulating the footballer for the outrageous fish.

The defender came through the youth academy at Blackburn before making the switch to Old Trafford in 1994 for £1.2million.

In nine years, he made 85 league appearances and won three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and added the Champions League in the incredible 1998-99 season to complete the Treble.

He spent the following campaign out on loan then finished his career with spells at Burnley and non-league Bacup Borough.

The mystery player in question is… David May.

May retired before stepping into punditry and still covers United matches.

He also spent time as a wine importer and remains an avid golfer and hiker – when he is not beating any Covid restrictions with a genius bar order.

2David May is the mystery footballer after his nine years with the Red DevilsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd