MANCHESTER UNITED coach Benni McCarthy has revealed that he spent two weeks unknowingly swearing at teammates during his time in Spain.
The 45-year-old, who joined Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff last summer, enjoyed a successful playing career before retiring from professional football in 2013.
GettyMcCarthy became a coach at Man Utd last summer[/caption]
News Group Newspapers LtdThe former South Africa international used to unknowingly swear at teammates after joining Celta Vigo[/caption]
He shot to stardom during his time at Ajax in the late 1990’s and was quickly snapped up by La Liga club Celta Vigo as a result.
However, the former South Africa international recently admitted that he struggled during his time in Spain because he didn’t know Spanish.
And the language barrier resulted in him being caught out by a long-running prank.
When speaking to FourFourTwo, McCarthy revealed that he unknowingly continued to SWEAR at his Celta Vigo teammates for two weeks after joining the club.
He said: “After establishing myself at Ajax, I felt ready to move on. My dream was to go to England. I could have gone to Tottenham but my agent persuaded me that Spain was the place with the best teams and the best lifestyle.
“I should have done more research. I didn’t realise how difficult it would be to learn Spanish, and not a single person spoke English at Celta.
“I had to guess what people were saying to me, or what they wanted.
“I watched TV with my little book full of words and learned Spanish.
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“My team-mates would teach me all the wrong things.
“They told me that the words for ‘good guy’ were ‘you motherf***er’. So for two weeks I was going up to people all over Vigo and calling them motherf***ers!”
McCarthy left Celta Vigo to join Porto in 2002, where he won two Primeira Liga titles and the Champions League.
He then went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, West Ham and Orlando Pirates before becoming a coach.
Now a much-loved figure at Old Trafford, McCarthy has been praised by Man Utd fans for his influence on the club’s incredible form.
He has even been described as a “miracle worker” and a “revelation”.