While speaking to the Times, former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra opened up on a horrific incident that happened to him when he was a teenager, and had revealed details about it in his autobiography “I Love This Game”.
The Frenchman spoke about the time he revealed it to his mother, which – in his words – was a difficult thing to do. Evra mentioned that his mother felt quite bad about the incident but had asked for the incident to not be disclosed as it is private.
But the 40-year-old decided to speak up about the incident as he wanted it to be a pathway for other kids who face similar abuse:
“It was a tough moment for me. I have still to tell a few of my brothers and sisters and close friends. I don’t want people to feel pity. It’s a difficult situation. A mother does not expect to hear this from their own child. It was a big shock for her. A lot of anger. She said she was sorry.
She said: ‘You must not put it in your book, it’s private Patrice,’ but that’s when I say: ‘Mum, it’s not about me, it’s about other kids,’ then she says OK, she understands.”
There was also an incident during his playing days when Evra was racially abused on the pitch by the Liverpool forward Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan was subsequently banned for eight games, and his teammates were criticised for wearing Suarez shirts to support him.
During an illustrious career at Old Trafford where he won the Champions League in 2008 and multiple Premier League titles, Patrice Evra became one of the finest fullbacks of his time. After an 8-year stint at United, he moved to Juventus where he won the Serie A thrice in the following years.
He called time on his career in July 2019 and is currently spending time with Sky Sports as a football pundit.
