DWIGHT YORKE “went off the rails” after Manchester United won the treble in 1999, the club’s former masseuse has revealed.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side produced a historic campaign 24 years ago when they claimed the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Dwight Yorke, right, won the treble with Manchester United in 1999Credit: Getty
He was also known for his party lifestyle and briefly dated Katie PriceCredit: Getty
Yorke, 51, scored 29 goals in 48 games in the unprecedented season, forming a formidable partnership with Andy Cole.
His tally included EIGHT in Europe as he finished as the joint-top scorer in the Champions League alongside Andriy Shevchenko.
But, after bagging 23 goals in the following campaign, his form began to deteriorate.
In the next two seasons, he managed just 13 goals in 54 matches.
This was around the time he dated well-known model Katie Price – a relationship which led to the birth of their son Harvey, now 20.
And Man Utd’s ex-masseuse Rod Thornley, who was at the club from 2000 to 2019, insists Yorke loved going out and often turned up to training worse for wear.
Speaking to the Undr the Cosh podcast, he said: “Right, Dwight, so he’s [coming] off the back of a treble win.
“I would say about Dwight, he’s the one person I watched in the whole time I was at Man Utd that the level of success proper got to him.
“He went from Villa, to us, to winning everything and he would come in with yellow eyes like so many days.
“He just loved a party. F***ing hell, a great, great lad, honestly a great lad, but f***ing hell, he absolutely went off the rails after winning everything.
“You could see it physically, he wasn’t as good on the pitch – you could see it physically just in his eyes, the amount of days he came in with yellow eyes was ridiculous.
“The gaffer knew everything, Sir Alex knew everything. He knew what was going on with every single player at all times, he was so on the ball.”
Yorke left Man Utd for Blackburn in 2002 and scored 19 times in 74 games at Ewood Park.
Spells at Birmingham, Sydney FC and Sunderland followed, before he hung up his boots in 2009.
Rod Thornley spent 19 years as a masseuse at Man UtdCredit: Alamy
