Patrice Evra outlines key conversation that convinced him to join Man United and REJECT Liverpool 

‘It was like an FBI interview… if I let him down this man is going to KILL me’: Patrice Evra reveals grilling from Sir Alex Ferguson that convinced him to reject a move to Liverpool and join Man United

  • Patrice Evra has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to join United 
  • Evra compared his first meeting with Sir Alex to an interview with the FBI 
  • The Frenchman was won over by the Scot’s direct and demanding approach

Patrice Evra has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson convinced him to choose Manchester United over Liverpool in 2006 after comparing their first meeting to ‘an interview with the FBI’.

The Frenchman will go down in Man United folklore as one of the club’s all-time greats after winning five Premier League titles, three League Cups, and the Champions League during an eight year spell at Old Trafford.

But Evra has revealed how he could have moved to United’s arch rivals Liverpool if it wasn’t for the persuasive tactics of Sir Alex at an airport in Paris – with the former full-back joking the Scot made him feel he would ‘kill him’ if he let him down.

After a breakthrough season at Monaco, Evra spoke of how he was won over by how direct and demanding Sir Alex was.

‘Sir Alex spoke with my agent and we met at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris,’ Evra told Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five YouTube channel.

Sir Alex won Evra over with his direct approach

Patrice Evra (left) has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson (right) convinced him to join Man United

The Frenchman - who joined United in 2006 - claimed his first meeting with Ferguson was like 'an interview with the FBI'

 The Frenchman – who joined United in 2006 – claimed his first meeting with Ferguson was like ‘an interview with the FBI’

‘He didn’t speak French so it was more David Gill [negotiating]. My English wasn’t great so my agent was translating.

‘I remember he was asking questions like, “do you drink?” “No”. “Do you like to go out?” “Sometimes”. “Are you ready to not lose a game?” “Yeah”. “Are you ready to not even draw a game?” “Yeah”. 

‘I feel like it was an interview from the FBI. And when I shook his hand – everything I say I was like, “I’m ready – if I let him down this man is going to kill me”, so it was really impressive,’ he added.

‘Before United came my agent said we had Liverpool, Inter Milan, and United. I remember my agent was so excited and saying, “Patrice, it’s Manchester United”.

‘I was watching United because of Eric Cantona, so this was a big influence [on me], but when I met [Ferguson] you feel something special. 

‘If you do well for this man you will win and achieve things for this club.’

Evra won five Premier League titles at Manchester United during a hugely successful spell for the club

The Frenchman left Manchester United in 2014 a year after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement

Evra won five Premier League titles at Man United during a hugely successful spell for the club

Evra’s decision turned out to be vital to United’s success as he became one of the world’s best full-backs during his time in the north west.

However, when Ferguson decided to retire from management in 2013, it marked the premature end to Evra’s United career as well as he lasted just one season under David Moyes before being shipped out by the club.

The Frenchman went on to join Serie A giants Juventus where he won three Italian league titles and two Italian cups.

He eventually moved back to France with Marseille before returning to England for a second Premier League spell as he opted to join West Ham before retiring in 2019. 

It’s not the first time Evra has made revelations about Sir Alex’s tough style of management after detailing his harsh treatment of Nani in 2011. 

He told of how the former winger was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Jamie Carragher, yet the Scot was still left seething despite the player crying. 

Sir Alex was known for his tough, no-nonsense approach as a manager at Manchester United

Sir Alex was known for his tough, no-nonsense approach as a manager at Manchester United

‘You remember Anfield when Nani got tackled by Jamie Carragher?’, Evra told Ferdinand on how show earlier this month. 

‘I remember he got butchered he nearly broke his leg. We started fighting with Liverpool players, Steven Gerrard, and then Scholsey [Paul Scholes] came and he saw Nani crying. He said “f*** that, let’s go”.

‘After that Ferguson gave him two weeks off because he says he needed to recover from that because we were waiting for him because in that team we didn’t care we were ready to kill him.

‘Because you know someone crying at Anfield… and even Ferguson, you remember when he said: “I hope your legs are f*****g broken I really hope your legs are broken”.

‘Ferguson always wanted to kill Nani when he was falling on the floor, saying you can’t be a United player and doing that.’

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