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.
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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.
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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”.
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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
Tickets go live as opening date is announced for Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience
Emily Sergeant
Tickets to visit Manchester City’s new ‘immersive’ museum experience have officially gone live ahead of the grand opening.
Set to open in the heart of the £300m Medlock Square entertainment district at Manchester’s Etihad Campus next month, the Manchester City Museum Experience will be spread across 10 distinctive spaces – with visitors invited to take a trip down memory lane with nostalgic environments from throughout the club’s history.
Fans will also be able to take part in interactive media experiences, like posing with all 48 major trophies won by the club’s first teams or trying their hand at football punditry.
The experience will combine the latest immersive technology with physical memorabilia drawn from across the club’s history to do this.
Hidden details and surprising ‘did you know’ facts are set to be embedded across the experience, so that even the most devoted Man City fans will have the chance to discover something new about the club they love.
By combining interactive environments, technology, and authentic artefacts, the experience is aiming to appeal to a wide audience – from lifelong Manchester City supporters, to families and those with a broader interest in football, culture, and the city of Manchester.
“The Museum Experience has been designed as a destination that goes beyond just the pitch,” commented Jeremy Maxton, who is the Director of Visitor Attractions at Manchester City Football Club.
Manchester City releases CGIs and important details of its new ‘immersive’ museum / Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
“Whether you’re a lifelong supporter, visiting Manchester for a weekend, or simply looking for a unique day out, we’ve created an experience that offers something for everyone.
“From the recreated environments and original memorabilia to the interactive elements, there are different ways into the Club’s history throughout the Museum.
“We’ve also built in space for new stories to be added over time, so the experience can continue to evolve. It’s been a huge project to bring together and we’re looking forward to people seeing it for themselves later this year.”
The Manchester City Museum Experience officially opens on 14 December, and you can now book tickets to visit from that date here.
Featured Image – Credit: Manchester City / Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Danny Jones -
21st March 2023 
