Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand discuss how the Manchester United locker room responded to Nani crying after a late tackle by Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher at Anfield
Patrice Evra has revealed how former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and player Paul Scholes slammed Nani after a game against Liverpool, despite the winger getting a horrific tackle from Jamie Carragher.
The late challenge from the former Liverpool number 23 occurred during a Premier League match at Anfield in March 2011, which Liverpool won 3-1 courtesy to a hat-trick from Dirk Kuyt.
Nani’s shin was swollen from Carragher’s studs-up challenge. After being stretchered off, the Portuguese had to be replaced.
Left-back Evra, who was playing for United at the moment, originally ran over to support Nani, but his teammates became disinterested after witnessing him cry on the field.
“Do you recall when Nani was tackled by Jamie Carragher at Anfield?” In his podcast FIVE, Evra interviewed ex-Red Devils center-back Rio Ferdinand. “I recall he was murdered and nearly shattered his leg.
“We started fighting with Liverpool players, including Steven Gerrard, and then Scholsey [Paul Scholes] arrived and saw Nani crying. ‘F*** that, let’s go,’ he said.
“Ferguson gave him two weeks off after that because he said he needed to heal from it because we were waiting for him because we didn’t care, we were ready to kill him.
“Because you know someone crying at Anfield… and even Ferguson, you remember when he said, ‘I hope your legs are f*****g broken, I truly hope your legs are broken’.
“When Nani was falling on the floor, Ferguson always wanted to kill him, screaming you can’t be a United player and do that.”
“Not one of my finer moments,” admitted Carragher, who escaped with a booking. Nani took a risk here. My favorite recollection of that is not so much the tackle as it is Wayne Rooney’s reaction.
“I was on friendly terms with the referee Phil Dowd and I got him on my own, pulled him in, and I said, ‘he just beat me with skill’.
“Everyone else was fighting, so I brought him over like a pro, and then Wayne Rooney walked over and said, ‘you won’t believe it, he’s sobbing.'”
“My thought process was warped, and I got it completely wrong, mistiming my tackle in a way that looked horrible,” Carragher wrote in his Telegraph column. I was in a bad mood.
“I could not sleep that night, my mind distracted with the horrific tackle and the public outrage to it. It horrified me to think that one event may tarnish my reputation after hundreds of tough but fair tackles in my career.
“I was pleased Nani was not gravely injured, because I have never met a player who wants the prospect of jeopardizing the future of another professional on their conscience.”
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