Nicky Butt was an underappreciated footballer, successful in his career but so often overshadowed by players more prolific when it came to attracting headlines.
The former Manchester United midfielder is a six-time Premier League winner and a European champion. He was acknowledged at international level, too.
Nicky Butt on his World Cup 2002 motivation
"I’ll tell you a story about that, and I don’t tell it often," Butt tells FourFourTwo. "When I went to that World Cup, I wasn’t going to play, but then Steven Gerrard got injured.
"In big games, even the Champions League final in 1999, I always had something in my head going, 'If I don’t do well here or we don’t win, it’s because [Paul Scholes] and [Roy Keane] are suspended.'
"And then, 'If I don’t do well at the World Cup for England, it’s because Gerrard’s not here.'
"I was talking to the media and this knobhead journalist went, 'Well, obviously you might play now Steven’s not around?'
"It was all about Steven, and he was right – I was nowhere near as good as Gerrard – but it got my back up.
"So I made sure that whatever I did in that World Cup, I did myself proud."
After winning silverware like it was going out of fashion under Sir Alex Ferguson, Butt left Man United in 2004 and played five seasons for Newcastle United and one for Birmingham City. He retired from playing in 2015.
Butt played the entirety of England's second and third group games at the World Cup in 2002 as well as their last 16 win over Denmark and quarter-final defeat against Brazil.
He did the same in Barcelona in the Champions League final in 1999, a dramatic 2-1 win over Bayern Munich to secure a historic treble for the Red Devils.
Butt was the CEO of Salford City before stepping down to focus on coaching in 2024.
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