Patrice Evra claims he would have been Manchester United captain had he stayed

Patrice Evra during his days at Manchester United.

Juventus’ French left-back Patrice Evra has claimed that he was on his way to be named captain of Manchester United under Louis van Gaal had he elongated his stay at Old Trafford.

Evra made the switch to the Italian giants earlier this month after spending eight and a-half years in England. However, with the acquisition of Luke Shaw earlier this year, Evra seemed to be destined to be relegated to the bench.

This would also have been the first time since his formative years at United (when Gabrielle Heinze was the first choice) that the French international would have become the second choice for the Red Devils at the left-back slot.

Speaking to the media recently Evra said: “Manchester United wanted to keep me and they also wanted to give me the captain's band.

“Van Gaal was disappointed to see me go away, but I had already made a choice.”

He had earlier served as skipper for both Manchester United as well as France. However, his time as French captain was marred by the team’s infamous strike during the Les Bleus’ disastrous campaign in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The diminutive Frenchman enjoyed an illustrious career at Manchester United, winning the Premier League on 5 occasions and the Champions League in 2008.

He was also named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2009.