Evra struck up Man Utd love affair after near miss and it carries on to this day

Patrice Evra as a character is unlike any other, the Frenchman is hilarious and insightful in equal measure with the punditry we see him deliver nowadays and his ludicrous technical ability as a player simply cannot be forgotten.

As unique as the Frenchman is, the first chapter of his story with Manchester United is actually strikingly similar to another player who joined the very same transfer window as him.

Evra was purchased by the Red Devils just five days after they had signed Nemanja Vidic from Spartak Moscow and like the Vidic transfer, United actually hijacked another club's move for Evra at the eleventh hour.

While the story of Vidic nearly joining United's title rivalsLiverpool before some Sir Alex Ferguson intervention is well-documented, few know that Evra was incredibly close to joining Serie A titans Inter Milan prior to his Old Trafford arrival.

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Thankfully for all those of a United persuasion, Evra would declare his preference for a Premier League switch and United swooped in to pry the Frenchman from Monaco before any of their rivals could.

The Old Trafford faithful would go on to hear Evra's thoughts on plenty of topics in years to come but the first time he spoke as a United player quickly endeared him to supporters.

Following confirmation of his move, Evra explained: "I was not very keen to go forward in the talks with Arsenal, Liverpool or Real Madrid. They all talked with my agent in the past two seasons.

"But to me, it was over. As I said to the Monaco officials, I only wanted to hear about Manchester."

What followed was for the most part eight-and-a-half-years of glorious success while donning the famous red shirt and establishing himself as one of the best left-backs on the continent in the process.

It was not always smooth sailing and Evra himself is on record conceding he was ill-prepared for his debut away at Manchester City.

Having started from the off, Evra was withdrawn at half-time as the Red Devils were beaten 3-1 by the club who would go on to be known as their 'noisy neighbours'.

After the game, Ferguson claimed "Maybe it was a bit of a gamble playing Evra", while the Frenchman himself admitted that "playing for Manchester United was something I was not prepared for."

His first full-season at the club saw him earn a place in the Professional Footballer's Association Team of the Year and Evra barely looked back.

Evra played an integral part in each of the five Premier League titles the Red Devils won during his time in Manchester.

His honours list makes for extraordinary reading with his five league titles sitting alongside three League Cups, one Club World Cup and the most coveted crown of all - the Champions League.

It is therefore a huge shame that after 379 appearances and over eight years of service Evra parted company with United in January 2014 under acrimonious circumstances.

Evra was of the belief that he had a gentleman's agreement with the recently departed-chief executive Ed Woodward over the manner of his departure.

The left-back had claimed he had been told he could leave the club for family reasons, only to discover United had actually activated an option to keep him at Old Trafford for one more year.

"I called Ed and swore on the phone, even threatened him," Evra recalled.

"He said I couldn't talk to the director of football like that and that he was going to fine me."

Evra eventually joined Juventus and won a further two league titles in Italy and proceeded to enjoy brief stints at both Marseille and West Ham before eventually calling time on his playing career in 2018.

This was not the last of Evra's relationship with United however, with the Frenchman since trying his hand at televised punditry on Sky Sports and has already given plenty of memorable soundbites in a relatively short media career.

His most notable comments came in the wake of United's humiliating 6-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in October 2020.

"Alexis Sanchez said after his first training session with Man Utd, he asked his agent to rip up his contract and that is what I'm going to ask of Sky," Evra ranted to millions of stunned viewers.

"I'm a positive person and I never want to talk about United because when you tell the truth it can hurt, I know you have to have some filter when you talk on TV but it is a shambles.

"I don't care about the result, I've been beaten 6-1 but every year it is the same story and I feel like every United fan now, that is why I would prefer to comment on no United games if I continue to work for Sky."

It was trademark Evra in many ways, with the Frenchman speaking emotionally from the heart without a care what others may say about one of the biggest loves in his life - Manchester United.