Manchester United legend Patrice Evra admits he got off to a nightmare start at the club when he first joined from Monaco.
The Frenchman ended up becoming an all-time great at Old Trafford, forming part of some of Sir Alex Ferguson’s best ever sides, winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and other major honours during his time in England.
Still, Evra was shocked at how much of a step up it was in the Premier League when he was subbed off in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.
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Speaking about it now, as quoted by the Daily Mirror, the former left-back admits he immediately felt out of his depth and that even his agent told him it was the wrong move to join the club.
He said: “I thought ‘what the hell am I doing here? I was in Monte Carlo chilling, but here the football is so fast. Oh my God you’re so done, Patrice. You should go back to Monte Carlo’.
“I went back to my flat with my agent and his wife and my agent looked at me and said, ‘Patrice, I’m sorry. You’ll never make it, it’s too hard. You should stay in Monte Carlo’.
“That day I was so bad, so embarrassing. My agent was actually telling me I should have never gone to Manchester United!
“So yes, I had this tough moment – but it helped me to become who I am.”
United fans will be glad Evra kept persevering though, as he is now undoubtedly one of their best ever defenders and remains much-loved by MUFC supporters.
It’s clear Evra became used to overcoming huge hurdles, as he also admitted in the same interview that he used to beg on the streets when he was growing up.
“I’ll be honest with you, it was a tough childhood,” he said. “I’ve got many brothers and sisters – so it wasn’t easy living in the streets.
“Sometimes I wasn’t even able to have some food.
“I remember my brother Dominique was working at a McDonalds and so I was going there and on his lunch break he was giving me his own food.
“I’m not scared to say that I’ve begged for money. I’ve been in front of shops and when I’ve seen some people I’ve said, ‘Can I have one pound?’
“And sometimes they gave me the money and sometimes not, just because I wanted to buy a sandwich.”