Paul Scholes has never been shy of an opinion. This one comes with a receipt.

The Manchester United legend wants City stripped of the 2011/12 Premier League title — and handed to United instead.

He made the case on Instagram in his own distinctive style. Ex-teammates, he said, keep talking about trophies being taken off City while quietly declining the medals themselves. He is not one of them.

'Keep hearing ex-teammates saying they want trophies taking (sic) off them but they don't want their medals...f*** that I'm a greedy b****** I want my medal.'

At least he's honest about the motive. Greedy, self-aware, and entirely upfront about wanting a piece of metal he didn't win on the pitch.

The record doesn't help him

Here's where it gets awkward. Wayne Rooney — Scholes' former teammate, a man who actually played in those derbies — has said United shouldn't be awarded the title for that season. Scholes disagrees with him.

Rooney is right. United didn't deserve to win it.

The two clubs finished level on 89 points. United lost both meetings with City that season. Across those two games, City scored seven goals and United scored one, including a 6-1 victory for City in the first meeting. United literally couldn't beat City in 2011/12.

That is not a title taken by administrative manoeuvre. That is a title decided by what happened when the two sides met.

Scholes, it should be noted, only played 16 matches in his final season — 2012/13, the year after the one in question. United haven't won the Premier League since. Since 2013/14 they have finished second twice and fifth or worse seven times.

Wanting a medal from a season you didn't win while your old club slides down the table is a choice.

Where the case actually stands

City were recently found guilty of financial fair play charges and of not helping with the investigation into them. The club is appealing. No punishment has yet been handed down.

One potential sanction would be for City to be stripped of the titles won between 2009 and 2018 — the years when the wrongdoing allegedly took place.

So Scholes is jumping ahead of the process. No punishment has been decided. City are contesting the findings. And the specific season he wants reassigned was settled by a 6-1 at Old Trafford and a season sweep for the Blues.

If the titles do get stripped, they won't be handed to the team that lost twice and scored once. That's not how any of this works.

Scholes can want his medal. Rooney, at least, understands why he shouldn't get one.