Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has revealed he swore at the club's former chief executive, Ed Woodward, after his proposed move to Juventus was initially blocked.
Evra joined United from Monaco in 2006 and went on to win five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his time at Old Trafford. He made 379 appearances for the club and also played 81 times for France, who face Italy in the Nations League on Friday night. He eventually left United for Juventus in the summer of 2014.
Contract dispute
Before the move, the full-back had agreed a two-year contract with the Italian club and informed Woodward he intended to leave once his contract expired at the end of the 2013/14 season. After initially accepting his decision, Woodward changed his mind and decided he wanted to keep Evra at United.
Speaking previously, Evra, now 45, said he threatened and swore at Woodward after United triggered a one-year extension to his contract against his wishes.
Evra's account
"Before the end of that season Ed told me, 'Patrice, you're going to stay for another year because we've got an option in your contract,'" Evra told Sky Sports in 2019. "But I told him I needed to leave because of family reasons. He shook my hand and said he understood.
"Then, in May, I was having dinner in Dubai on my birthday and had a text from my agent. He told me to go somewhere quiet and sent me a message with the statement from United saying they were pleased to renew my contract for another year. I went mad, I was really disappointed.
"I called Ed and swore on the phone, even threatened him. He said I couldn't talk to the director of football like that and that he was going to fine me. After that Ryan Giggs called and said I couldn't leave just because of one man, but it gave me an excuse to leave. I'd already said to my wife we were going to leave, but inside I didn't ever really feel I could. That gave me a little push.
"Some people won't understand why Ed did it but I understand. Of the senior players I was the only one he wanted to keep - even David Moyes had said it before he got sacked. They said to [Rio] Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidic, we don't need you anymore, but in the dressing room you need a character. I understood Ed, but I didn't understand why he betrayed me. He should've called me to explain."
Move to Juventus
Two months after the extension was announced, Evra, then 33, joined Juventus for £1.2million. A year later, he featured in the fifth Champions League final of his career as his new club lost to Barcelona, but he insisted he would rather have been at United even as they struggled under former boss Louis van Gaal.
"Without that, it's difficult to know what would've happened. I would've had to deal with my wife - and I call her Roy Keane when she gets angry. When we reached the Champions League final with Juventus, she said she'd told me so, but even winning three Champions Leagues with Juve wouldn't have had the same satisfaction of playing for United."
Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, he said he had felt "betrayed" by Woodward, adding: "When Ferguson left, United lost their DNA, their philosophy.
"He was inspiring so much respect, so much fear, and if any player starts thinking he is bigger than the team then he destroyed you. The players always wanted to play for Ferguson. I tried my best for David Moyes but I knew it would be a disaster because players won’t respect him like that. It was a mission impossible."
After three seasons at Juventus, Evra joined Marseille for two years before wrapping up his career after a brief stint at West Ham.
