"None of the lads in our squads want to be flashy or behave like prats. The
people of Manchester would never tolerate it if any of us were arrogant. We
are very close to our fans. United is more a team of mates than of colleagues.
Most of the lads have been here they played together for the youth teams.
They have been playing together for 10 years. They are all big mates."
"I feel honoured that they brought me into their circle from the first day I got
here. But I think it helped because they saw I wanted to adapt in every way to
be part of the English and United culture.''
"I have a feeling that nobody is as popular as Eric Cantona. The fans respect
him, too. They still sing for him at every game. I played with Cantona in
Giggsy's testimonial and I could not believe the impact Eric had on everyone."
About Gary Neville:
"He has a special role in the team and the squad. Gary keeps the group
together, day and night. He does a kind of team building, which is fantastic for
a club and must be fantastic too for the boss.''
On the fans:
"Our fans are so polite. If I go out for dinner, they leave me in peace until I
have finished my meal. Only when I have paid the bill do they ask me for a
signature."
On Giggs
"Giggs is a quiet, very sensible lad who I have never heard raise his voice. He
talks with respect. He will not yell at anyone in our team. Because of his warm
personality he gets tremendous respect from all the players. He has come
from the youth academy and has more or less been brought up by the club.
And all the players who have been here since their youth have great manners
and values."
"Sir Alex thinks it is so important for his players to have a good character and I
think he is right. We have to be warm to our fans, we have to be social and
show respect for people. Giggsy is all that."
On Manchester:
"Manchester has got everything. Great shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants,
an international airport, theatres, concert halls. I go and see a lot of bands.
And when I want peace I always drive into the Lake District.''
On himself
"I have become a real health and fitness freak at United. I watch my food (and
so does our nutritionist), I don't drink and I have become a mad trainer. I need
to have this discipline to perform the way I do for United."
"The culture around the club is different from on the continent. In Holland all
your family and mates hang around in the players' bar. After the game I used
to play what we called "the third half of the game". It was like being in a pub.
"At United, players leave immediately with their family and friends. They don't
hang around to have a booze."
"My contract ends on my 30th birthday, July 1 2006. But if I am fit, I will sign a
new contract. I will never, ever play for another club in England. Once you
have played for this club, the rest don't count anymore."
"I feel so much at home here. I want to spend as much time of my career here
as possible."