Patrice Evra

Patrice Evra

15.05.1981 (43 years) (Dacar, Senegal)

Patrice Latyr Evra (French pronunciation: [patʁis latiʁ evʁa]; 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. His manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised Evra for his leadership, also describing 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 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 went on to win a collection of trophies including five Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League. In 2014, he joined Italian side Juventus before moving 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. Evra participated in five major international tournaments for France: the 2008, 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Championships, winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2016; and both the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. 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. He returned to the squad and enjoyed a successful 2014 World Cup in Brazil under Didier Deschamps as France reached the quarter-finals. Evra was named to the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions and the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year. In France, he was named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year and included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. In September 2019, while completing his professional coaching badges, Evra returned to his former club Manchester United as a trainee coach at the club's academy.