Former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera has insisted that he did not intentionally spit on Manchester City's badge during the Reds' come-from-behind 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium in April 2018.
Herrera was at the centre of controversy after the derby clash after being filmed appearing to spit on the giant City badge at the mouth of the tunnel, as both sets of players made their way back to their respective dressing rooms for the half-time interval. United were 2-0 down at the break, meaning City were on the cusp of securing their first Premier League title under Pep Guardiola.
Quick-fire goals from Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan in the space of just five minutes had put City in complete control. United, though, produced a stunning second-half comeback, thanks to goals from Paul Pogba (two) and Chris Smalling, meaning City's title celebrations were put on hold.
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While United's heroic comeback was the topic that grabbed the headlines, Herrera's alleged spitting incident at half-time also generated plenty of attention. At the time, a United spokesperson said Herrera was 'mortified' at the suggestion he had intentionally spat on the crest. And now the Spaniard, more than four-and-a-half years on, has clarified that he did not do it with any intended malice.
"No, I didn't," Herrera told the UTD Podcast when asked if he had done it on purpose. "Honestly I didn't do it. I wanted to beat them, to destroy them, the same as Liverpool, but I respected the badge, the same way that I want my badge to be respected.
"I do the same for the others so I didn't do it on purpose. I said that after the game, even though I created [a reaction] from some fans, that I didn't do it on purpose. I was so angry that we were losing 2-0 and I was thinking about how we can fix that.
"I didn't do it on purpose and after that we won 3-2, if I'm not wrong. They couldn't celebrate winning the league in front of us. I loved it because they had [victory] T-shirts prepared at half-time and they couldn't [celebrate]."
Herrera, who is currently on loan at Spanish outfit Athletic Bilbao from Paris Saint-Germain, made 189 appearances during his United career, scoring 20 goals and registering 27 assists. He left Old Trafford in 2019 to join PSG.
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