Patrice Evra

Patrice Latyr Evra (born 15 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer.

Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back.

Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team.

He was named in the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions, as well as the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year.

His long-time manager Alex Ferguson praised Evra for his leadership, and described him as one of the best left-backs in Europe.

The son of a diplomat, Evra was born in Senegal and arrived in Europe when he was a year old.

Evra started his career with Italian club Marsala.

The following season, he joined Monza, but returned to France a year later to play for Nice where he was converted into a full-back.

In 1993, he joined amateur club CSF Brétigny based in nearby Brétigny-sur-Orge.

Similar to his stint with Les Ulis, Evra went on trials with several clubs, most notably Toulouse and Paris Saint-Germain.

He was ultimately signed by the latter and converted into a winger.

Evra trained at the Camp des Loges for a few months, but was later released.

After failing to convince PSG officials of his ability as a footballer, Evra returned to Brétigny and was invited by a friend to participate in an indoor five-a-side football tournament organised by the Juvisy-sur-Orge sports center.

While playing, he was spotted by an Italian scout who offered him the opportunity to attend a trial with professional club Torino.

Evra spent ten days training with the club and, after the trial, was offered a place on the club's youth team.

Afterwards, he was approached by Serie C1 club Marsala, whose officials enticed him with the prospect of becoming a professional.

Evra chose the latter option and signed his first professional contract at age 17.

Evra spent only one season with the club, appearing in 27 total matches and scoring six goals.

After this, he moved to the Serie B level to join Monza for a €250,000 transfer fee after potential moves to Serie A clubs Roma and Lazio fell-through.

Evra only appeared in three matches, making his debut on 29 August 1999 in a 2–1 away defeat against Alzano.

He left the club following one season after becoming frustrated with his lack of appearances.

Evra returned to France joining professional club Nice in Ligue 2, the second division of French football.

He spent the majority of his first season with the club playing with its reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football.

He primarily played as a midfielder on the team and appeared in 18 matches, scoring one goal.

In 2002, he joined Monaco and was part of the team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final.

Evra's performances for Monaco culminated in a move to English club Manchester United in January 2006, where he spent eight years and went on to win 14 trophies including five Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League.

Evra participated in five major international tournaments for France: the 2008, 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Championships, and both the 2010 and 2014 editions of the FIFA World Cup.

Ahead of the 2010 World Cup, Evra was named captain of the national team by manager Raymond Domenech.

At the tournament, he appeared in two group matches, although France had a poor campaign that saw the players go on strike after a first-round elimination.

The incident resulted in Evra, for his role as captain, being suspended from national team duty for five matches.

In 2014 he joined Italian side Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and played in another Champions League final.

He returned to the squad and enjoyed a successful 2014 World Cup in Brazil under Didier Deschamps as France reached the quarter-finals.

Evra began his football career playing for hometown club CO Les Ulis.

After playing in the streets for years, he was brought to the club by friend Tshymen Buhanga, who informed the club coach, "I bring you the new Romário."

Evra spent one year at the club under the watch of coach Jean-Claude Giordanella, who later became vice-president of the club.

Giordanella described the player as "more quiet, almost shy. He was a good kid".

Evra originally played football in the striker position and, while training at Les Ulis, underwent trials with professional clubs Rennes and Lens.

Following the conclusion of the evaluations, Evra was rejected primarily due to his size.

Evra moved to Marseille in January 2017; however, he was released in November 2017 after being banned from UEFA competition for seven months for kicking a fan prior to a UEFA Europa League match.

Following a short-term contract with West Ham United in February 2018, Evra retired from professional football in July 2019, later completing his professional coaching badges and returning to former club Manchester United as a trainee coach at the club's academy.