'Sir Alex Ferguson Would Be in Jail Today, He Was Evil' - Ex-Manchester United Star Patrice Evra Makes Startling Admission

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would be in jail if he was coaching in the modern age, according to former United left-back Patrice Evra. 

Ferguson revived the club during his time in charge and made them serial winners. However, his hard-nosed and ultra-disciplinarian approach was often questioned even when it was bringing success. 

And Evra, who spent multiple seasons at the Manchester-based club and won five Premier League titles as well as one UEFA Champions League, freely admits that the way Ferguson worked back then would simply not fly now. 

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Evra's Shocking Claim

The Frenchman said that he saw many players cry due to Ferguson's ‘hairdryer’ treatment and jokingly dubbed the Scotsman ‘evil’. 

"If Ferguson was coaching right now he would probably end up in jail. There's no way Ferguson would not be in jail with what he would do to. Do you know how many players I saw cry because he gave them the hairdryer, throwing boots - he was evil," Evra said on the SDS podcast.

The ‘throwing boots’ incident refers to the time he mistakenly kicked a boot at David Beckham and gave the then-England skipper a cut over his eye. 

However, this wasn't the only incident cited by Evra which showcased how deep the hard-nose attitude ran in the club. 

Player Ostracised for Crying?

During a game against Liverpool, then-United winger Nani was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Jamie Carragher. 

The studs-up challenge could have easily earned Carragher a red and it left a huge gash on the winger's leg. But Nani was yelled at by Ferguson for crying in pain, according to Evra's retelling of the story. 

“Ferguson said 'I hope your leg is broken, a United player cannot cry at Anfield'. After the game we were waiting for the next day when we were going to kill Nani. To tell you how nasty we were, we didn't care. If you're bleeding and you cry, you're done, you're not part of us.”

Given how conversations around mental health and accepting emotions run nowadays, maybe Evra does have a valid point when saying Ferguson's methods simply would not fly today.