Patrice Evra has opened up on life at Manchester United and said that cleaning Cristiano Ronaldo’s boots was seen as “a reward” when the Portuguese star first arrived at Old Trafford.
Speaking about the dressing-room rules in place under Sir Alex Ferguson, Evra explained that younger players were expected to do jobs for senior team-mates, and that Ronaldo quickly became one of the people everyone wanted to look after.
“Kids would maybe call it slavery!” Evra said, before insisting it was simply part of the culture at United at the time and something the squad treated as normal.
Evra described Ronaldo’s standards as the reason the task was taken so seriously, saying it felt like a privilege to be around a player who was so driven to improve and so focused on every detail.
He also made clear that, within that environment, getting asked to clean Ronaldo’s boots was not viewed as a punishment, but as recognition that you were trusted and that you were close to the heart of the group.
Evra’s comments offered a glimpse into the strict hierarchy and intense winning mentality that defined Ferguson’s United, with the former left-back pointing to the way the club’s established players set the tone for the rest of the squad.
