Nicholas Butt (born 21 January 1975) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who was most recently the head of first-team development at

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He is also a co-owner of Salford City. Butt played professional football as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

from 1992 to 2011. He spent the majority of his career with Manchester United, where he won six

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

titles, three

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

s, four

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

s, the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

and the Intercontinental Cup. Butt moved to Newcastle United in 2004. He spent one season on loan to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in 2005–06. He finished his career abroad, playing for

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

where he won the Hong Kong League Cup. Butt earned 39 caps for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

between 1997 and 2004. He was chosen for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

Club career

Manchester United

Born in

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Butt began his career at

as an important part of their youth team before turning professional in 1993. He made his first-team debut in the 1992–93 season as a substitute against Oldham Athletic in a 3–0

win on 21 November 1992, but did not get his big break in the team until the 1994–95 season, often covering for

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

in the event of injuries and suspension. One of his first appearances for the first team came in the FA Cup semi-final on 10 April 1994, also against Oldham as a substitute, this time in a 1–1 draw at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. United won the replay 4–1 at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

but he was not included in the squad. 1994–95 saw Butt play 35 games in all competitions, scoring one goal and featuring in the starting eleven for the FA Cup final, which United lost to Everton. With the departure of

Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager of Reading. A midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1986 to 2007, starting his career with West ...

to Internazionale in the 1995 close season, manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

chose to draft in Butt as Ince's successor in midfield alongside

. Butt was part of a notable batch of talented, young Manchester United players dubbed Fergie's Fledglings, who had mostly been involved in United's FA Youth Cup-winning triumph of 1992 and gradually been introduced into the first team over the next few seasons. Others included David Beckham,

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is also the co-owner of Salford City F.C., Salford ...

and Paul Scholes – who all spent a decade or more in the Old Trafford team's first team and helped the club win numerous major trophies as the dominant force in English football. Butt performed remarkably in his early seasons as a regular first team player at United, and often started in the lineup, scoring crucial goals, such as against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in Eric Cantona's comeback match in October 1995, and forcing Nigel Winterburn to concede an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

for the winner against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in November 1996 – a game which saw the end of a three-match losing run in the league. Butt also functioned as a steady replacement for

as the midfield ball winner, while Keane was injured for much of the 1997–98 season, earning a PFA Team of the Year award that year. However, Keane returned and after forward Paul Scholes was re-deployed as a midfielder around the end of the 1990s. Butt's first-team chances started to become increasingly limited, with many of his appearances coming from the bench from this stage onwards. Butt still went on to collect many honours at United, as the club capped their domination of the 1990s with a remarkable and unique treble win in 1999 (with Butt playing the whole of the Champions League Final due to Roy Keane being suspended), and several more titles in the years up till 2001. By the time of his departure from Old Trafford, Butt had gained six

title winner's medals, three

winner's medals and a Champions League winner's medal. He had also collected an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1995.

Newcastle United

Butt handed in a transfer request in January 2004, but turned down a proposed move to

during the January transfer window. He was signed by Bobby Robson for Newcastle United in July 2004 for a fee of £2.5 million on a four-year deal, where he was seen as a replacement for the veteran Gary Speed, who had moved to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Butt had a disappointing and injury-marred 2004–05 season, prompting the then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness to sign

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese midfielder Amdy Faye in January 2005. Despite a promising start, the fans turned on Butt after the 4–1 defeat against Manchester United in the

semi-final. The acquisition of Scott Parker and Emre in the summer of 2005 pushed Butt further down the pecking order, and his move to Birmingham City (managed by former Manchester United teammate Steve Bruce) on a season-long loan was announced on 3 August 2005. However, on 13 February 2006, Butt walked out on his manager and former Manchester United teammate Steve Bruce, after finding out Bruce placed his son Alex Bruce in the squad ahead of him, and was later fined two weeks wages. After Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League, Butt returned to Newcastle who were being managed by Glenn Roeder. Although not an instant fan favourite at St. James' Park, Butt won over some fans with two goals scored through headers in a pre-season friendly against Villarreal. There was some speculation that newly appointed

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

manager

would try to sign his former Manchester United midfield partner. However, due to the lack of back-up midfielders at Newcastle and his good pre-season form, Butt remained at Newcastle. Butt and Martins

During the 2006–07 season, Butt was much more involved in the first team at Newcastle, playing in the holding role which allowed the likes of Parker and Emre to go forward. On 14 January 2007, Butt scored his first Newcastle goal in over 2 years when he scored the winner against Tottenham Hotspur in a 3–2 victory at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. Butt's return to form was encapsulated when he captained Newcastle in a

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

match against Zulte Waregem on 15 February when Parker was injured. His good form that season continued, as on 9 April, Butt won the man of the match award for his performance against

. He continued to captain Newcastle whenever Parker was injured, and by the end of the season it was widely considered that he had won over the Newcastle fans. With Parker having moved to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, Butt continued to play a big part in Newcastle's 2007–08 campaign. On 21 December, he penned a new contract keeping him at the club until the end of next season. After being an almost ever-present in that season, he expressed a desire to finish his career with Newcastle. Butt also started the season as captain, filling in for the injured

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Newcastle United ...

, and proved to be a popular choice. Butt played his 100th league game for Newcastle on 21 December 2008, marking it with a 2–1 home win against Tottenham. Newcastle were eventually relegated that season, meaning that Butt's record of playing in every

season has been relinquished. Butt was made permanent club captain for the 2009–10 season, his first outside the top flight, following

's departure to Manchester United as a free agent during the summer transfer window. However, vice-captain Alan Smith's impressive form saw him take the armband more often than Butt. Butt started fewer games, but still effectively carried out his holding role well, leading his side to gritty shutouts in most of the games he started. The club eventually won both promotion to the

and the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

title, and Butt announced his retirement in the build-up to Newcastle's last home game against Ipswich Town. He entered his penultimate game as a substitute and won a penalty en route to a 2–2 draw. Butt lifted the

trophy alongside vice-captain Alan Smith. After leaving Newcastle he was backed by former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton to move into coaching, although a coaching position with Newcastle is not something Hughton had spoken with Butt about.

South China

On 6 November 2010, the chairman of Hong Kong club

, Steven Lo, said that the club expected Butt to sign for them at the end of the month. Butt signed for South China on 22 November. Wearing the No. 8 shirt, his first match was against TSW Pegasus in a 2–1 win for South China. Butt scored from a freekick during this game but also missed a penalty. After leaving South China, he featured in

's testimonial against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

on 24 May 2011 in central midfield alongside Paul Scholes, rekindling the old times in a midfield that also contained David Beckham. However, they lost the game to the Old Lady. Butt also featured in midfield for Eric Cantona's New York Cosmos in Scholes' testimonial match against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 5 August 2011.

International career

Having been capped five times at under-21 level, he won his first England

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

during the 1996–97 season against Mexico and became a squad regular, providing reliable backup for the central midfield positions. An injury to first choice midfielder

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

gave Butt his chance in the starting line-up alongside Manchester United teammates David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Ahead of England's quarter-final game against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, he was named "the best player of the England squad" by Brazilian legend

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

, a compliment to his performance in the unattractive holding role. England eventually exited the World Cup after a 2–1 defeat to Brazil. After the World Cup he returned to his role as a squad player, providing experienced cover for the first-choice midfield pairing of

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

. He was selected for

, but missed the tournament through injury. His last international appearance was in a friendly against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 17 November 2004. In total he appeared 39 times for England.

Post-playing career

Coaching

In October 2012, Butt returned to Manchester United as a coach for the club's reserve team. He was appointed head of the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in February 2016, a few months after the departure of Brian McClair. Since November 2016, he has filled in as interim coach of the reserve (under-23) team after Warren Joyce left for the managerial position at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. He briefly served as assistant to Ryan Giggs, after Giggs was made the interim manager of the Manchester United first team, following the departure of David Moyes. In July 2019, Manchester United restructured their backroom staff, making Butt the head of first-team development, reporting directly to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær to help improve the transition for young players from the youth team to the first team. Nick Cox replaced Butt as head of the academy. In March 2021, it was announced that Butt was to leave

after 9 years there in various coaching roles within their academy.

Business interests

In 2014, it was announced that Butt, along with fellow ex-

players Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary and

had agreed a deal to purchase Salford City ahead of the 2014–15 season. with plans to get the club to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing a Class of '92 team. On 22 September, the group agreed to sell a 50% stake in the club to billionaire Peter Lim. On 31 October 2022, Salford City announced the appointment of Butt as the club's chief executive officer, taking over from Gary Neville who had served in that role in a part-time capacity for eight years. On 15 October 2024, Butt announced he was stepping down as CEO of Salford to pursue coaching opportunities.

Personal life

Butt was arrested and bailed for assaulting a woman in 2004. Butt married his long-time girlfriend Shelley Barlow in 2008. They have two children. Butt was arrested for alleged domestic assault in April 2019 but the case was discontinued after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence. Butt accepted a caution for criminal damage. In 2024, Butt was banned from driving for a year and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work for breaking a motorcyclist's leg during an accident caused by Butt's "lapse of concentration".

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of 20 May 2011''

Honours

Manchester United *

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03 *

: 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04 *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: 1998–99 * Intercontinental Cup:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Newcastle United *

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

: 2009–10 *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

South China * Hong Kong League Cup: 2010–11 England U18 * UEFA European Under-18 Championship:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Individual * Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year: 1993–94 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1997–98 Premier League * Newcastle United Player of the Year: 2006–07 *

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

: The Premier League's 100 Best Players (No. 69)

References

External links

*
Profile
a
the FA websiteNicholas Butt FA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Nicky 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Gorton English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's international footballers English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players South China AA players Premier League players English Football League players Hong Kong First Division League players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Champions League–winning players Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Salford City F.C. chairmen and investors Footballers from Manchester People associated with University Academy 92 English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong