Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra admitted he stopped celebrating league titles properly after Sir Alex Ferguson taught him to be a ‘robot.’
The Frenchman won five league titles during his eight years at Old Trafford and recalled celebrating ‘like a kid’ at Mikael Silvestre’s house when he won his first Premier League medal in 2006/07 season.
After that, though, winning was so normal that Evra believes he never celebrated on the same level.
“I’ll be honest, when you start winning the third one, the fourth and the fifth, you celebrate but not the same way,” Evra told The Official Manchester United Podcast.
“You celebrate because of the cameras and stuff, but it’s not the same. Ferguson taught us all to be like a robot. I don’t think I was a human being playing for Manchester United. When we won games, when I was doing something good, I wasn’t pleased. For me, it was something normal.
“I always say that Deschamps taught me winning is important, but Ferguson taught me that winning is normal. I remember after big wins against Liverpool he just said, ‘Well done, son’. He was never screaming, apart from when we won the Champions League final. It was just something normal, winning the league.”
The full-back endeared himself to United fans during his eight years at the club by embracing the culture and understanding the history and explained why it meant so much to him.
“So every time I was putting this shirt on, and I know how many people have worn this shirt and won,” he said. “Respect this tradition, the philosophy. I was like, ‘I can’t let down those people’. When you play for Manchester United, it’s not for you.
“You don’t use Manchester United, and because you’re a United player so you’re famous, you’re on social media. You play for United because you have to give to those people.
“I give you one example: once when we were in pre-season, and before we came on the bus, we were really tired, I’ll be honest with you, and there was a queue of fans. And the players were like: when no one signs, no one has to sign.
“So we went straight to the bus, everyone, and I look out the window and I see Sir Alex Ferguson signing each autograph. I swear he must have signed for like 45 minutes. He was signing [for] everyone.
I say ,’Guys, when the boss comes on the bus, we are done.’ And he came on the bus, he gave us the hairdryer. ‘What the hell do you think you are?! Those people are paying your salary. Those people are coming to watch you. Now get the f**k down there and sign.’ And we had to sign each fan. But that’s the mentality.”
