FORMER Manchester United star Nicky Butt has revealed that he was motivated by knowing he could outfight his team-mates and other top players.
The midfielder was part of the Class of 92 squad alongside heroes like David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Butt won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League, being part of the treble-winning team in 1998/99.
He admits to not being the most talented in the squad but it was his passion that allowed him to play amongst the best.
Butt told the Daily Mail: “I always knew I wasn’t as good as Scholesy and Giggsy and Becks.
“But I knew they couldn’t outrun me or outfight me. I was driven by that.”
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Butt featured an incredible 387 times for the club before moving on to Newcastle and Birmingham.
The 48-year-old ended up returning to his boyhood club, working in various roles in the club’s academy for nine years after his retirement.
But he departed in March 2021, admitting he was left unhappy at the direction United were going in.
Butt said: “My vision and my philosophy and what I was brought up on at Man Utd didn’t go with the people running the club so it was time to leave.
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“I am not saying I was right all the time but I knew if I didn’t leave I was gonna blow. And that wouldn’t be good.
Butt is now part-owner of League Two club Salford City.
He runs the team alongside fellow Class of 92 stars like Gary and Phil Neville, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham.
Butt now works as Salford’s CEO and he opened up on his surprise career move.
He said: “You don’t go through seven years of coaching badges to toss it off and not do it again.
“But I got to a fork in the road and I went the other way. I wasn’t happy at United so I left. I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder if I am honest.
“I was sick of people upstairs telling me about football. If I was to tell people in the boardroom how to run a football club they would just look at me wouldn’t they?
“But they have the right to talk about developing players? So I was p***ed off about it.
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“Eventually I left but before that I went and did a CEO course. I didn’t ever want to be one. I just wanted to be more in tune with a chief exec, to be more empathetic.
“But then the world spins round and all of a sudden last year this job comes up and here I am. I’m enjoying it.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
