Top facts about Patrice Evra, the Black Gazelle of France

Patrice Latyr Evra (born 15 May 1981) is a retired seasoned footballer and current French soccer manager. He began his career as a striker but spent most of his time as a left-back.

Evra was captain of both

and the France national squad with boss Sir Alex Ferguson praising him for his professionalism and hailing him as one of Europe's top left-backs.

Patrice Evra’s age

is 40. Here we take a look at some of the most important facts about the French former star.

He joined Monaco in 2002 and was a member of the side that advanced to the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final. Evra's accomplishments for Monaco led to a January 2006 transfer to Manchester United, where he won a slew of championships, including five

championships and a UEFA Champions League.

He joined Italian club

in 2014 before transferring to Marseille in January 2017; however, he was sacked in November 2017 after receiving a seven-month suspension from UEFA competition for kicking a spectator during a UEFA Europa League match. Evra withdrew from professional football in July 2019 after signing a short-term contract with West Ham United in February 2018.

Top facts about Patrice Evra:

The first

fact about Patrice Evra

is that he was born in Senegal and moved to Europe when he was a year old, as the son of a politician. Evra began his professional career with the Italian team Marsala. He decided to join Monza the next campaign, but a year after, went back to France to compete for Nice, where he was transformed to a full-back.

Patrice Evra early life

Speaking about

Patrice Evra’s parents

, he was born to a Senegalese father and a Cape Verdean mother. Evra's family relocated to France when he was a kid after he was born in Senegal, and he has said that there were times when he had to panhandle for cash in Paris.

He is one of a total of 25 children, however two are already dead. One of his brothers, Mamadou, altered his name to Claude in order to acquire a work in France. Evra was reared in Catholicism and has indicated that his father harbored anti-Muslim beliefs.

Evra's father was a diplomat and, when Evra was a year old, relocated to Brussels in Belgium to work at the Senegalese embassy.

Regarding

Patrice Evra’s childhood

, after nearly two years residing in Belgium, when Evra was three, the parents moved to France and resided in Les Ulis, a town in the south of Paris. The family first decided to settle in the local Bergeries neighbours before having to move to the Hautes Plaines quarter briefly after.  Evra was nurtured on Senegalese culture and values that gradually became "Modernized". Evra got high grades at school.

He ultimately made it in football, first with Les Ulis, then with the PSG academy for a brief period before playing in the Italian lower levels. These are the kinds of things that, along with his background, aided his career, which included stops at Monaco, United, and Juventus.

“I'll be straight with you, it was a difficult upbringing for me since I had a lot of brothers and sisters, so living on the streets wasn't easy,” he says.

"I was in Paris, but I was living on the streets, and I wasn't always able to eat. I recall my brother Dominique working at a McDonald's, so I was visiting there and he was giving me his own meal during his lunch breaks.

I'm not afraid to admit that I've asked for money outside of stores. I've stood in front of stores and said, Can I have £1? Sometimes they gave me the money, sometimes they didn't, all because I wanted to purchase a sandwich."

Patrice Evra personal life

Patrice Evra traveled to Senegal for a brief period when he was ten years old, characterizing the trip as "not a nice experience" since he went back to endure circumcision. As of 2011, he has not been to the land.

Evra said ahead of the 2010 World Cup that he has received criticism from followers of the Senegalese national team for preferring to represent France over his own country.  Evra has an egg allergy, which he didn't realize until he was examined by Juventus.

An important fact about

Patrice Evra’s personal life

is that he was married to Sandra and they have two children, Lenny and Maona. Evra and his wife are divorced as of now, and he is committed to Danish model Margaux Alexandra.  He is fluent in five languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, in addition to his local language.

Evra took part in the Guus Hiddink Foundation's Shoot for Love Challenge, which raised critical cash for cancer-stricken kids. Evra rejected uttering discriminatory remarks against

in March 2019.

He has since stated that he wants to make football more tolerant of LGBT and female players and has been seen at Manchester United Women's home games. Evra returned to Manchester United in September 2019 as a student trainer while earning his professional coaching certifications. For a period of time, he would work with the team's Academy assistant coaches.

Patrice Evra also has discussed discrimination in relation to skin color during the visits of a head of state to Clairefontaine, "We know that the France team does not belong to any player, but to the French people. But we still have to change seats. When we eat, we usually sit next to this guy, because we have good relations, etc.

But every time the President comes, or politicians, everything was changing. I was sitting there and suddenly I was at the end of the table. Where there was normally Mamadou Sakho and Bacary Sagna, unfortunately, we had to change. We put Hugo Lloris and Laurent Koscielny for example, and the President in the middle.”

“While I was playing, I received several bananas and monkey noises. But it strengthened me. Monza in Serie B acquires me after a few years. Nero [Italian meaning black] was the name given to another black player. I stopped playing when someone said, 'Hey, Nero, pass the ball!' ‘You know, my mother gave me a name,' I add. ‘My name is Patrice. If you call me Nero, I'll refer to you as Bianco di Merda.' Crap in white. No one ever called me Nero after that. Some folks lack the confidence to do so. As a result, we must encourage children to be courageous.”

Patrice Evra professional career

Patrice Evra is a France international as well. He has represented

in five major international competitions: the 2008, 2012, and 2016 UEFA European Championships, where he finished second in Euro 2016, and 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Manager Raymond Domenech selected Evra leader of the national squad before of the 2010 World Cup.

Evra played in two group matches in the competition, despite France's disastrous record, which saw the players go on protest following a first-round exit.

Evra was suspended from national team duties for five matches and lost his position as commander as a result of the event. He rejoined the squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when he helped France enter the quarter-finals with Didier Deschamps.

He won 22 titles throughout his career with

, Manchester United, and Juventus. Five Premier Leagues, two Serie As, three League Cups, the Champions League, and five Community Shields were among the titles won.

Patrice Evra club career

Evra started playing football in his adopted hometown club, CO Les Ulis, until the age of 13. He then tried his luck at Brétigny-sur-Orge, a flagship amateur football club in Essonne. He then played as a left winger for the national under-17s.

He tested at Paris Saint-Germain and then at Stade Rennes. Evra was noticed by an Italian recruiter in the capital who advised him to the recruiting manager of Torino FC, but the Turin club already had too many young strikers in the making.

The "Toro" then directed the Frenchman towards SC Marsala, in Serie C1 (D3). A year later, he was spotted and courted by several big Italian clubs. He joined Monza Calcio (Serie B) from the month of August 1999, at 18 years old. He only played ten games before falling out with his coach who confined him to the bench.

OGC Nice

A notable fact about Patrice Evra’s professional club career is that in September 2000, Patrice Evra returned to France, at

down to D2. He arrived sure of himself, to the point of being labeled pretentious and with a big head by the other members of the locker room. A month later, he began his professional career in France with a heavy defeat at Châteauroux (7-2) as left midfielder.

At the start of the following season, the July 28, 2001, the Aiglons met Laval (2-1). At the left-back position, Scotto was injured during the meeting and Sandro Salvioni asked Evra to take a step back. He then remained at this defensive post, reluctantly at the start of matches. From then on, he fully developed, became indisputable holder of this position, and ended the year by being awarded best left back of the championship.

AS Monaco

Following the problems encountered by the Riviera club during the summer of 2002, Evra was recruited by AS Monaco. He was playing his first match for Monaco on Aug 3, 2002, during the first day of the 2002-2003 season against ES Troyes AC. His team won by four goals to zero that day.

He established himself as a holder at the left-back position in his first season, during which the club finished second in the championship. Evra was then one of the representatives of the new Monegasque wave and shone in particular during the 2003-2004 season which saw Monaco reach the final of the Champions League. The Frenchman was also voted best hope in the championship and was part of the best team.

A fact about Patrice Evra’s Monaco career is that, very much affected by the departure of Didier Deschamps from the Monaco club in September 2005, he left AS Monaco during the 2006 winter transfer market to join the ranks of Manchester United.

Manchester United

Across the transfer, Evra experienced adaptation difficulties as well as an injury which quickly relegated him to the sidelines. He returned to the team at the start of the 2006-2007 season and began to be appreciated by supporters. He gradually became an indisputable part of the Red Devils and obtained the title of best left-back in England, pushing Gabriel Heinze into exile at

.

With Manchester United, Evra won the Champions League in 2008 and was five-time champion of England in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

A fact about Patrice Evra is that in 2009, he won the League Cup against Tottenham (0-0, 4-2 on penalties). The following year, the Manchester club won again this same competition by beating

(2-1). The May 27, 2009, Manchester United lost in the final of the Champions League against

(2-0) and Evra still had to wait to become the fourth French player to win more than one Champions League.

After injuries of Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, Evra was the captain of the Red Devils during the 2009-2010 season. He was captain for the first time in his career at Manchester United on December 8, 2009 during the Champions League match against

(3-1).

The February 28, 2010, he became the second French player after Eric Cantona to wear the armband during a victory in major competition in the League Cup final won against Aston Villa (2-1).

The February 21, 2011, he extended his three-year contract with Manchester United, which now committed him to the English club until 2014. The May 28 the same year, Evra and the Red Devils were defeated for a second time in the Champions League final against Barça (3-1).

An important

fact about Patrice Evra

is that during the 2010-2011 season, the French defender was appointed vice-captain of the Red Devils and became captain the following season in Nemanja Vidic's injury absence.

Evra stood out during the 2012-2013 season by his defensive performances, to which he added an offensive contribution. He scored four goals in the first 22 days (two against Newcastle, one on the first leg and one on the return (victories of the Red Devils 3-1 and 4-3), one against

(1-1), one in his victory (2-1) against

), one more than in his previous seven seasons in the Manchester.

In April 2014, he scored a goal in the quarter-final second leg of the 2013-2014 Champions League, on the field of

against Manuel Neuer, but he did not prevent the defeat and elimination of his team (3-1; 4-2 cumulative score).

The May 23, 2014, while he was announced leaving for

, he extended his contract by one year, which committed him to the Manchester until June 2015.

Juventus

On the July 21, 2014, Evra was transferred for two years to Juventus. He scored his first goal for Juventus on December 14, 2014, opening the scoring with a header in a league game against

. The two teams finished in a draw that day (1-1).

During his first season, he participated in the final of the Champions League where they lost to FC Barcelona on the score of three goals to one on June 6, 2015. He was playing the fifth Champions League final of his career with three different clubs and one title.

Regularly established, he won a new double cup-championship during his second season with the Italian club as well as the Italian Supercup. On Iune 2016, he extended his contract with the Bianconeri for one season.

Marseille

On January 25, 2017, approaching the end of his contract with Juventus, Patrice Evra was transferred for a season and a half to Olympique de Marseille. Two days later, he made his debut in the OM jersey by being fixed in a

match against Montpellier HSC, which was won by five goals to one by the Marseille club.

In February, he wore the captain's armband against Stade Rennes in the absence of Bafétimbi Gomis and Rod Fanni. On May 7, 2017, he scored his very first goal with a diving header on an assist from Maxime Lopez for a two-goal victory over OGC Nice.

He started the first two Ligue 1 matches of the 2017-2018 season before being relegated to the bench following the arrival of Jordan Amavi. During the months of September and October, he only participated in four meetings, two in the league and two in the Europa League.

His contract was terminated amicably on November 10, 2017 following a kick to a Marseille fan before a Europa League match in Guimaraes a few days earlier. Evra was also suspended from all European competitions until the end of the season by UEFA.

West Ham United

On Feb 7, 2018, Patrice Evra signed for six months with

. That month, he made his debut with the club against Liverpool. On July 29, 2019, he announced his retirement and expressed his wish to continue as a coach.

Patrice Evra international career

Despite being Selected in the French under-21 team since September 2002, Patrice Evra was summoned to senior team from May 2004. However, he was not on the list of players summoned to participate in Euro 2004 or the 2006 World Cup and had not yet established himself as a holder in the French squad, Eric Abidal being often preferred.

Patrice Evra was selected by Raymond Domenech to participate in Euro 2008. However, he did not play the first match of the Blues against Romania (0-0) but took part in the second against the Netherlands (4-1 defeat), as well as the third match of the Euro against Italy (0-2 defeat).

The outcome was fatal for the Blues who were eliminated from the competition. Following the elimination of France, he spoke in front of the cameras evoking “the mess” represented by the Blues campaign and asked “forgiveness” from the supporters on behalf of the team.

An important fact about Patrice Evra’s international career is that in the first of three preparatory matches for the 2010 World Cup against Costa Rica, he wore the captain 's armband of the French team for the first time in his career.

He finally became the official captain of the team in place of Thierry Henry at the start of the World Cup. The June 22, 2010, Evra remained on the bench in the last game against

and handed the captain 's armband to Alou Diarra.

After the poor performance of the Blues at this World Cup, former international Lilian Thuram asked that Evra to be permanently excluded from the France team on July 2, 2010, due to his responsibility in the players' strike. The left-back finally received a five-game suspension on August 17.

Patrice Evra was recalled to the French team by Laurent Blanc to play the qualifying match for Euro 2012 against Luxembourg on March 25 and the friendly against Croatia three days later. He benefitted from the absence of Eric Abidal, operated in mid-March for a liver tumor.

A notable

fact about Patrice Evra

is that in 2012, he was one of the players selected by Blanc to compete in Euro 2012. Aligned in the first match against

(1-1), Evra did not play the rest of the competition, Blanc preferring to start Gaël Clichy on the left side of the French defense.

The left-back defender was part of the list of twenty-three players chosen to participate in the Brazilian World Cup starting in the summer of 2014. The selection lost in the quarterfinals against Germany. On the June 8, 2014, during the preparation matches for the World Cup, he made his third assist with the France team for Blaise Matuidi during the victory of the Blues over Jamaica (8-0) in a preparation match for this World Cup in Brazil.

He was part of the list of twenty-three French players selected to play Euro 2016. Holder in all matches of the competition, the selection reached the final before losing to Portugal in extra time. This was his fifth loss in six European finals.

After the Euro, he was no longer selected by Didier Deschamps thinking about the 2018 World Cup. Third in the hierarchy of left-backs, he was called by the coach to compensate for the absence of Layvin Kurzawa in November 2016. On the occasion of this last match, he played with the Blues against Sweden at the Stade de France (2-1 victory).

Patrice Evra style of play

Evra began his career as a striker. During his stay in Nice, he was repositioned as a defender by his trainer Sandro Salvioni and was even elected as the Ligue 2's best left-back in 200. He was equally capable of evolving in a four-person system as well as three (in 3-5-2 for example) defenders. He was able to bring a lot offensively, especially by delivering assists, even if his defensive qualities were sometimes criticized.

An important fact about Patrice Evra’s style of play is that, endowed with good athletic qualities, he mainly based his game on his explosiveness and his strong activity in his lane. He was also rarely injured. With a strong ego and a leadership temperament, strong man in the locker room, his authority often earned him the title of captain.

Patrice Evra social media

Regarding

Patrice Evra social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

) with 7.5 million followers. In the page we can see somany funny pictures of him, plus images of his glory days on the field.

Evra is well-known for his Instagram videos in which he screams "I love this game" while chanting along to Marvin Gaye, with or without Paul Pogba, or dressed as a Panda to mock racism. He acknowledges his own "dark energy" and says, "I want to transmit that wonderful message."

He also has a Twitter account (

) with more than 584K followers. He regularly posts new stuff on his Twitter page, mainly memes and funny videos and pictures.

Patrice Evra body measurements

Speaking about

Patrice Evra body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the French star is 5 ft 9 in (174 cm) and weighs 168 lbs (74 kg).

Patrice Evra net worth and salary

Patrice Evra's net worth is expected to be about $10.5 million and annual estimated salary of 2.86 million GBP.

A fact about

Patrice Evra’s net worth

is that aside from his football earnings, he has amassed a fortune from private partnerships for major brands such as Jeep & Adidas. He will probably be earning more in the coaching field in the future.

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