‘Many people need a good slap’ – Evra threatens to rip up Sky Sports contract after Man Utd mauling

Patrice Evra says that Manchester United’s key figures on and off the field “need a good slap” following their 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham, with the former Old Trafford favourite adding that their performance was dire enough to make him want to tear up his Sky Sports punditry contract.

The Red Devils were outgunned and outplayed by the visitors at Old Trafford, with the shortcomings of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad highlighted in particularly painful fashion as former boss Jose Mourinho ran rampant over his old side.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty inside the opening two minutes was to prove the cruellest of false dawns as a Harry Kane and Son Heung-min-inspired Spurs scored six times past a frequently inept United, reduced to 10 men half-an-hour in after Anthony Martial was dismissed for a slap on Erik Lamela.

The result equalled United’s worst top-flight defeat of the Premier League era, matching the 6-1 scoreline they were on the wrong end of in a Manchester derby the better part of a decade ago – but their performance here was arguably even more damning.

Such an emphatic loss is unlikely to boost the club’s hopes of swaying any last-gasp transfer targets such as Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho to join their ranks and leaves Solskjaer facing a difficult international break as his side prepare for their return to Champions League football against last season’s finalists Paris Saint-Germain.

But Evra refused to lay the blame for the result solely at the Norwegian’s feet, instead blasting the club’s structure as a whole, with captain Harry Maguire and the board headed by Ed Woodward coming in for particular criticism from the former United favourite, adding that their poor showing made him want to quit his new gig covering games for Sky Sports.

“Alexis Sanchez said a comment, where he signed for United and after his first training session he asked his agent to rip up his contract,” the Frenchman stated after the match. “That is what I am going to ask Sky. I would really like to rip up my contract [after that].

“I’m passionate and I love my club […] but this is a shambles. Gary Neville, you hear him say that Maguire needs a holiday, a break. We always talk about pairing him with someone, but what about taking him out of the squad?

“I don’t want to start to criticise players. I’ve been there. But tonight, there is no excuse. They have let down all the United fans. I don’t care about the result because I have been beat 6-1. It’s just… every year is the same story. I feel like all the United fans right now. It’s why I’d prefer to commentate on a different game than United if I keep working for Sky.”

Pressed on what he had hoped for United to achieve this term following a third-place finish last season and with a return to the European high table, Evra admitted that he had low expectations due to how the club was run.

“Nothing,” he added. “Nothing! I’ll be honest, I feel sad for the manager. After this, we’ll talk about the manager and who’s going to be the next one. But what about the board? Since Ferguson left, all managers have been sacked.

“So is that the solution? It feels like every year, you’re going to talk about whether Ole is the man. Maybe he’s not. Maybe he is. But we don’t know about the transfers, we don’t know if he’s a puppet – we don’t know! Because we won’t get players like Sancho, we don’t go for the right prices. It’s like if I’m going to buy a car. I know the price.

“But what’s going on with my club? What’s going on today? I’m really emotional. It’s difficult to break me. I’m a positive person. I’m not one to promote violence but many people need a good slap right now. That’s what I would do right now.”