Fabien Barthez or stepovers. He was also very quick off his line, and often acted as a sweeper-keeper, thus contributing to the evolution of the role. While he received plaudits for his goalkeeping ability in the media, throughout his career Barthez also frequently came under criticism from pundits for his stubbornness, and his aggressive, unorthodox, and eccentric style of play, as well as for taking unnecessary risks, and was also deemed to be inconsistent, unreliable, and prone to errors and lapses in concentration. Through his career, Barthez was known for his active romantic life, and dated Canadian model Linda Evangelista. She became
Fabien Barthez United. His first season was a triumph as he answered all the questions about how he would handle rainy Manchester compared to sunny Monaco. Barthez performed brilliantly throughout the season and became a crowd favourite. The fans loved his eccentric behaviour, his taunting dribbles and step-overs past opposing strikers, and most importantly, his remarkable reaction saves. Very often it was critical saves that kept United from defeat or dropping valuable points, helping United to the 2000–01 FA Premier League title, their third in a row. A memorable incident happened when Manchester United faced Leeds United in March 2001. After dropping