Drawing on his own experiences of returning to a club after a period away, Butt suggested that hard work could win over the doubters. Butt was loaned to Birmingham for a season in 2005 before returning to Newcastle United. He added: “I remember when I went back to Newcastle from Birmingham, I didn’t think I’d ever stay there. I got booed coming onto the pitch against Villarreal. I came on, scored two headers and I still got booed coming off the pitch. I was thinking there’s no way I’m going to end up staying, they’re not going to accept me. But I trained, worked hard and played, ended up being captain of the club and staying another four years.”
“It would obviously be better for him to stay at Barcelona than go back to Man United. The club might have made their mind up but, again, if he comes back to pre-season contracted as a Man United player, Michael will give him respect and consideration. He’ll bring him into the group and if he starts training well and looks like he’s hungry and wants to prove a point. The big thing is if there’s no deal to be had anywhere else then you’ve got him, it’s as simple as that and you may as well use him.”
