Nicky Butt 'sick to death' of what he's hearing at Man Utd as Paul Scholes sticks boot in

Fuming Nicky Butt insisted he is 'sick to death' with Manchester United's academy as he launched into an expletive-ridden rant. Ruben Amorim was also targeted, as Butt and fellow club icon Paul Scholes fired shots at the club and their decision-making.

Butt, 50, broke through United's youth system in 1992, before embarking on a trophy-laden career under Sir Alex Ferguson . During Ferguson's reign, the mentality was clear; win anything and everything in sight, as the legendary Scot racked up 13 Premier League titles, 19 domestic cups and a pair of Champions Leagues over the course of 27 years.

However, since his retirement in 2013, the club has declined and regularly failed to mount a serious title challenge. Last season, United registered their worst-ever league finish, coming 15th under Amorim's stewardship.

United, who have long prided themselves on their academy, now find themselves with barely any youngsters flourishing in the first team. Kobbie Mainoo , who has been linked with an exit in recent weeks, is the only player to have emerged from their academy who is in the first-team squad regularly.

Speaking to The Times about the current state of the youth system, Butt said: "I’m sick to death of hearing people at Man United’s academy saying, ‘It’s not about winning. It’s about the experience.' It f***ing is about winning, because if you’ve never won anything from 13 all the way up, how are you expected to go and win at the first team?

“You’ve got to develop winners, because if you don’t, you can’t play for a big club like Man United. And that’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed in the academy over the last so many years.

"I know it probably sounds like I’m saying this because I left, but it’s not. It’s about winning. And if it’s not about winning, they’re at the wrong football club."

Elsewhere, Butt also claimed that Amorim's stubborn mentalty with regards to insisting on deploying a 3-4-2-1 system could also be the 40-year-old's downfall with the club. He added: "If me and Scholesy [ Paul Scholes ] were in charge, we’d say, 'Right our job’s on the line here and we’ve got to get some wins somehow.'

"And it’s not working, the system, so my thought would be, 'Let’s go and get two or three results any way we can,' but he’s gone so far now that he can’t go back. He’s made a rod for his own back.

"Does he think he can turn it around? Or does he want to go back to Portugal or Spain or another club? I don’t know the answer to that. But it’s looking to me like it is going to happen sooner or later.

“The manager seems to be so obsessed with playing this way and if he keeps it up, and does not win games, he won’t have a chance to do it because he’s going to be gone. It’s a fact."

Scholes, meanwhile, added: "If you don’t win games, you will lose your job. It’s getting to that point now."

It comes as Manchester United are set to face Liverpool in the Northwest derby on Sunday, with hopes of kickstarting their campaign to secure European football for 2026/27. Currently sat 10th in the Premier League standings, the Red Devils have three wins, three losses and a draw to their name - but head into this weekend's clash with momentum in the form of a 2-0 win over Sunderland in their last outing.

Arne Slot , meanwhile, will hope to put to bed a three-match losing streak when the two sides clash at Anfield, given his side have suffered defeats to Crystal Palace , Galatasaray and Chelsea consecutive.