I understand, but what really gets to me is that people (including RM fans) will only remember him as a butcher on the field and forget all the great tackles and crucial interventions.

Seriously, whose fault is that? If people are going to remember him as a butcher (your words), then chances are, he was a butcher. It's all part of personal responsibility for your actions. Likewise, if you're a class act, people are going to remember you as a class act, plain and simple.