Ander Herrera was one of the favourites at Old Trafford during his time at the club and the former Spain international recently revisited some of the memories he created.
After a tedious transfer saga, which included absurd fake agents, Herrera became one of Louis van Gaal’s first signings in 2014 and he would go on to become a regular under the Dutchman and his two successors, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He departed on a free transfer at the end of the 2018/19 season but one of his famous moments at United was his angry walk into the tunnel during the thrilling 3-2 Manchester derby win in 2018.
With United trailing by two goals and needing to at least draw to avoid City winning the league that day, a begrudged Herrera was filmed and it looked like he left his mark on the City crest.
Now, over four years later, he has set the record straight and denied any suggestions that he deliberately spat on the crest of United’s rivals.
“No I didn’t,” he is quoted as saying by the official Manchester United website when asked whether it was deliberate. “Honestly, I didn’t [mean to] do it. I wanted to beat them [City]. I wanted to destroy them, the same as Liverpool. But I respect [them].
“The same as I want my badge to be respected, I do the same for the others. I didn’t do it on purpose, and I say that after the game.
“[I may have] even created some fans [among the United supporters] after that, but I have to be honest, I didn’t do it on purpose.
“I was so angry. We were losing 2-0. I was so angry, and I was just thinking about how we can fix that, and I didn’t do it on purpose.
“And after that, we won 3-2, if I am not wrong. They couldn’t celebrate the league in front of us, which was very [relieving].
“I love it because they had the T-shirts prepared and they couldn’t [wear them].”
As Herrera points out, United mounted an incredible comeback in the second half and halted any celebrations from United’s city rivals.
