Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has branded Dennis Wise a ‘nasty piece of work’ and says the former Chelsea midfielder ‘tried to rip my mouth open’ during a Premier League match.
Discussing the toughest teams and players they came up against during their illustrious careers on the Football Greatest’s podcast, Scholes and fellow United hero Nicky Butt both landed on Wise.
Wise was known to be one of the fiercest competitors in the Premier League in the 1990s and clashed with both Scholes and Butt at different times.
Butt was sent off for lashing out at Wise in Manchester United’s shock 5-0 defeat to Chelsea in 1999 but insists the Stamford Bridge star was to blame.
Wise clattered into the United midfielder midway through the first half and Butt then reacted by kicking out at Wise right under the referee’s nose.
That sparked ugly clashes between the two teams, with United accusing Wise of making the most of the incident and essentially getting Butt sent off.
Reflecting on the incident, Butt said: ‘He [Dennis Wise] was horrible with me. He got me sent off. He pinched me in the balls and got away with it.
‘He got away with murder. He two-footed me in the head and when we were on the floor he’s grabbed my balls. I should’ve booted him or punched him because I got sent off anyway. I only gave him a little knee.
‘He was a wind-up merchant but when you meet him outside of football he’s actually a decent bloke.
‘He worked at Newcastle while I was there and he’s a good bloke to be fair, but on the pitch he was nasty.’
Scholes also clashed with Wise, who earned 21 caps for England, and says he would do the ‘weirdest things ever’ during games.
‘Dennis Wise was horrible, weren’t he? He did some of the weirdest things ever,’ Scholes told Butt on the podcast.
‘I remember rolling on the floor with him during a game – not fighting or anything – and he’s got his finger in my mouth.
‘He’s trying to like rip my mouth open. He was a nasty piece of work.’
Wise spent most of his career at Chelsea and won several trophies at Stamford Bridge, including two FA Cups. He also played for the likes of Wimbledon, Leicester City and Millwall.
As well as making his presence felt on the pitch, Wise, now 57, was also not afraid to clash with his own team-mates.
Chelsea legend John Terry revealed in 2020 that Wise had once grabbed him by the throat in front of the rest of the squad.
‘I remember I was in the first team and got a Champions League bonus and I went out and stupidly bought a car with the bonus I was on,’ Terry told the Footballer’s Guide to Football podcast.
‘I was 19 at the time. I come in with my car and Wisey got me up round the throat in the corridor in front of everyone: “Who do you think you are? Go and take the car back”.
‘So he made me go and take the car back, which I lost money on, took me around and helped me find a house, buy a house, so it was the best bit of advice.
‘I was embarrassed at the time but it was the best bit of advice that I could have had.
‘I’m really grateful for all those little bits along the way, guiding the younger players, and he always not only had his eye on the first team but had an interest in the younger boys.’
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