Patrice Latyr Evra (French pronunciation: ; born 15 May 1981) is a French professional footballer who plays for the France national team. Originally an attacker, he primarily plays as a left back. Evra, whom Sir Alex Ferguson praised for his leadership, also describing him as one of the best left backs in Europe, has served as captain for both Manchester United and France.
The son of a diplomat, Evra was born in Senegal and arrived in Europe when he was a year old. He was raised in France and began his football career playing for various clubs in the Île-de-France region such as hometown club CO Les Ulis and CSF Brétigny. In 1997, he had a stint at professional club Paris Saint-Germain. A year later, Evra seized his first footballing opportunity in neighbouring Italy when he signed his first professional contract with Marsala in Sicily. He made his professional debut with the club and, in the ensuing season, joined Monza. After a year playing with Monza, Evra returned to France to play for Nice. Originally a midfielder, while playing at Nice, he was converted into a full-back. In 2002, Evra joined Monaco and contributed to the club that won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2003. He also featured in European competition for the first time in his career and, in the 2003–04 season, was the starting left back on the Monaco team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final. In that same season domestically, Evra was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. He was also named to the organisation's Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
Evra's performances with Monaco culminated into a move to English club Manchester United in January 2006. While playing for Manchester United, Evra won a slew of trophies, including the League Cup in his debut season at the club. In his second season, he eclipsed compatriot Mikaël Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze as first-choice left back and has since won five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League title, one FIFA Club World Cup, three League Cups and four Community Shield titles. Evra has been named to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year on three occasions. For his performances during the 2008–09 season, he was named to both the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year. After joining Italian side Juventus in 2014, he immediately helped the club to a domestic double and the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, and won a second domestic double and the Supercoppa Italiana the following season, before moving to Marseille in January 2017.
Evra is also a France international. Prior to playing at senior level, he played at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in August 2004 in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Evra has participated in five major international tournaments for France: the 2008, 2012 and 2016 editions of the UEFA European Championship, 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 and bore the armband for the first time in the team's friendly match against Costa Rica in May 2010. At the tournament, he appeared in two group stage matches, although France endured a disastrous campaign which 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. However, he returned to the squad and enjoyed a successful 2014 World Cup in Brazil under Didier Deschamps as France reached the quarter-finals.
1999-2000 |
2000-2002 |
2002-2006 |
2006-2014 |
2014-2017 |
2017 |
2018 |
| Manchester United | Appearances | English Premier League | 2010-2011 | 35 |
| Manchester United | Assists | English Premier League | 2010-2011 | 2 |
| Manchester United | Goals | English Premier League | 2010-2011 | 1 |