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Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has admitted that he has learned not to celebrate winning trophies under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson, who turned his players into “robots”.
The Frenchman won five Premier League titles during his eight years at Old Trafford. Evra recalled “drinking like a child” at Michal Sylvester’s home after his first title in 2006/07, but has never celebrated the same way since then.
“Honestly, when you win the third, fourth, and fifth, you celebrate, but it’s not the same,” Evra told Manchester United’s official podcast.
You celebrate on camera, but it’s not the same. Ferguson taught us how to be like robots. I don’t think he was human when I played for Manchester United. When we won games, when I played well, I was not happy with myself. For me that was normal.
I’ve always said that Deschamps taught me that winning is important, while Ferguson taught me that winning is normal.
I remember that after great victories over Liverpool, for example, he said simply: “Well done, son.” He never screamed, except after we won the Champions League final. Winning the title was normal.
During his eight years at United, Evra became a crowd favorite and understood perfectly what it meant to wear the Red Devils jersey.
“Every time I put on the shirt, I knew how many great players wore it and won with it,” Evra continued.
He knew the philosophy, he respected the traditions. I thought, “I can’t disappoint these people.” When you play for Manchester United, you play for the club, not for yourself.
I’ll give you an example: During a preseason training, just before getting on the bus, we were exhausted and the road to the bus was full of fans. All the players agreed that we would pass without giving autographs.
We all got on the bus directly, and when we looked out the window we saw Sir Alex Ferguson signing everyone’s autograph. I swear, he must have been signing for 45 minutes. He gave autographs to everyone.
Then I said, “Guys, when the boss gets on the bus, we’re all done.” Then he went upstairs and said, “What are you thinking about? These people are paying their wages. They have come to watch over you. Everyone should come immediately and give you autographs!”
And we had to go down and give autographs to anyone who asked for it. That was the attitude at Manchester United. “
