“I don't miss football” - Manchester United legend opens up on offer from Premier League club to come out of retirement

Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has opened up on offers he received from a Premier League club to return to the pitch after being retired for three years. After spending eight years of his career at Old Trafford - between 2006 and 2014, he moved on to Juventus and played for Marseille.

The full-back spent five months at West Ham United in 2018 before retiring in the summer of 2019 after a full year without finding a new club. However, he might have returned to play in the Premier League at the age of 40, as he revealed on comedian Shane Todd's Tea With Me podcast. Evra said (via Tribal Football):

"I was approached by a Premier League team three years ago to come back to play, but to be honest, I don't miss football. But if you say, 'Patrice, let's go, we have a game,' I will train like when I was a professional."

However, the Manchester United legend did not reveal the name of the club that reached out to him in 2021. If he returned to the sport, he might have added to 725 games he played across all competitions throughout his club career. Evra also had 81 caps for the France national team.

---

Manchester United legend Evra opens up about how football affected his personal life

Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has spoken about how his career in football affected his personal life. The former French full-back is married to Sandra Evra with two children. He also has two children with Danish model Margaux Alexandra.

On the podcast with Shane Todd, he discussed the rigors of playing football at such a high level (via Tribal Football):

"People don't understand, some people play football for fun, but I always say, it's easy to reach the top of the pyramid, but to stay at the top, that's when you have to make sacrifices. It's a 24-hour job; you have to eat and sleep football. You have to be dedicated to that.

"When you do that you sacrifice time with your family and with your friends. I always tell the story of when I came back home one day, and my son, who was three years old, was crying. I asked why, and he said, 'Because I hate Manchester United.'"

Evra continued:

"I thought, ‘Oh my God, he's Liverpool or Chelsea, man, don't tell me that or I'm going to have a heart attack,’ but I asked why, and he said, 'Man United took my dad away.'"

Recently, in July 2024, the Manchester United legend was found guilty of abandoning his family between 2021 and 2023. He was handed a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison (via Le Parisien).