Ex-Manchester United man Patrice Evra has revealed the intense meeting he had with Sir Alex Ferguson that convinced him to join Manchester United and, as it turns out, reject Liverpool.
The former French fullback recently appeared on fellow teammate Rio Ferdinand‘s FIVE podcast to discuss all things football, United and plenty more, so it was no surprise that talk eventually turned to Sir Alex Ferguson and the impact he had on his career.
Rolling back the years to 2006 when Evra first joined United, the 41-year-old shone some light on the rather full-on first meeting he had with Sir Alex and then chief executive David Gill in Paris, which involved lots of translation and the usual no-nonsense approach from his soon-to-be manager.
As he remembers it, the conversation was “like an interview with the FBI”.
We’re sure Evra isn’t the only one Sir Alex had this effect on.
Evra detailed how he, Sir Alex, Gill and his agent all met in a special room at Charles de Gaulle Airport and the Scots’ first questions were straight to the point: “Do you drink?… Do you like to go out?; Are you ready to not lose a game? Are you ready to not even draw one game?” etc.
ADVERTISEMENT
He went on to explain that from the moment he shook Sir Alex’s hand, he felt as though if he let the team and him down, in particular, “this man would kill me—but it was really impressive.” Crazy to think the kind of impact he could have in such a short space of time.
To make the story even more high-stakes, Patrice also revealed that before he signed on the dotted line for United, he could have very well joined their rivals further down the River Mersey.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yes, Patrice said that “before United came, [me and] my agent, we had Liverpool and Inter Milan”, adding that his agent was so excited to get the call from Old Trafford.
He insisted that the move was always leaning in United’s favour as he had grown up watching club legend Eric Cantona, who had a “big influence” on his decision.
However, the move materialised mainly down to SAF himself: “When I met Ferguson, I felt like something special — you feel like his aura. If you do well for this man you feel, you are going to win and achieve lot of things”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cut to a few years later and he was right, he won pretty much everything there is to win a club level barring the FA Cup. Go figure.
You can watch the full interview, including Patrice Evra’s story of the time he chose to confront Sir Alex Ferguson down below:
Featured Image — FIVE (via YouTube)/Manchester United/Patrice Evra (via IG)
Sport
Tommy Fury announces huge fight against former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall
Daisy Jackson
Tommy Fury has announced his next major boxing match – against a rather unlikely opponent.
The Manc boxer and former Love Island star will face Eddie Hall, who once reigned as the World’s Strongest Man and was the first person on the planet to deadlift 500kg.
The match, billed as Beauty vs The Beast (we’ll let you decide who’s who…), will take place at the AO Arena this summer.
Tommy Fury and Eddie Hall will be facing off in Manchester as part of the Misfits Boxing series, a sports promotion company founded by YouTube sensation KSI.
26-year-old Fury – younger brother of heavyweight legend Tyson Fury – remains unbeaten, seeing off all-comers in the crossover boxing world.
As for 38-year-old Eddie Hall (nicknamed The Beast), he retired as a strongman competitor, where he’s previously been crowned the World’s Strongest Man, and has now pivoted into combat sports.
The pair have collaborated recently on several videos online, taking on challenges like a One Punch Knockout and a breakfast eating competition.
But this will be the first time they’ve publicly faced off in the ring.
Misfirst Boxing has once more delivered the biggest match-ups possible in the crossover boxing space, with Fury vs. Hall promising to be a titanic tussle that will captivate fans around the world.
Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall, Beauty vs The Beast, will take place on Saturday 13 June at the AO Arena in Manchester – you can get tickets HERE.
Corey Blackett-Taylor ruled out injured for the rest of the season
Danny Jones
Bolton Wanderers winger Corey Blackett-Taylor has been ruled out for the rest of the season following injury.
With not that long left in this year’s campaign and the playoff scrap set to ramp up even further in the coming weeks, it’s an unfortunate twist of fate for the Trotters.
Despite still being only a relatively recent signing, having just joined Bolton in the most recent January transfer window, it didn’t take long for him to make a good impression.
Scoring on debut in a 1-0 away win against AFC Wimbledon, the 28-year-old is now set to miss the remainder of the 2025/26 term, letting supporters know the news on Friday, 27 March.
Blackett-Taylor was forced off in the game against Rotherham United after pulling up in the wake of taking a shot, ultimately being subbed in the first half.
It was quickly confirmed to be a thigh injury, and while the specific nature and severity of the damage haven’t been fully detailed, he has now informed fans that his season is over.
Writing on Instagram, he said: “Instantly from arriving at the club, I felt the passion and support from the fans, club, staff and players.
“I have no doubts [about] the club achieving their targets of promotion – I want to say a huge thank you for making me feel so welcomed and comfortable. Unfortunately, my season is concluded due to my injury, but I’ll be here supporting the team to the very end.”
He isn’t the only impactful League One player at a side eyeing up the Championship to have been hampered by setbacks on the physio bench, with rivals Stockport County also confirming an absence at this crucial point in the campaign.
Not ideal for either of the Greater Manchester hopefuls.
Once again, while the recovery period for both of these players has already begun, the exact timelines for their return remain to be seen.
That being said, chances are we’ll see the Derby County loanee back in action before Hills, though we’ll have to wait to find out whether it will be at the Toughsheet Stadium or back with his parent club.
Who do you think is going to clinch that third promotion place at Wembley come this May?
Danny Jones -
21st March 2023 
