Former France and Manchester United captain Patrice Evra is a burst of energy. “I am still alive, very busy, running everywhere, travelling all around the world, but, happy blessed and grateful,” an ebullient Evra told The Telegraph when we caught up with him over a Zoom call ahead of UEFA EURO 2024 for which he is an expert panellist on Sony Sports Network’s studio show Football Extraaa, on his tournament favourites, his mission for child rights and more.
What is the secret to your youthful looks?
(Laughs) To be fair, I have been training well... being happy. I think age is just a number and that’s the way I take it. I am 43 and people don’t believe me. I don’t know the secret. Good life, good love and good food.
Welcome back to India! What’s on the anvil this time?
The same as I did two months ago. One of my goals is to come to India... and you feel the energy. And, don’t ask me why. I have told my team many times that I need to go to India and I can’t explain why. I went there with my friend and I kept smiling. As soon as I touched down at the airport, it’s the energy, the people. I saw everyone smiling and they welcomed me and were warm. I loved the culture, the food and Bollywood. That’s why when the opportunity to work with Sony came, I jumped on it straightaway because I couldn’t wait for another occasion to come to India. I just feel home when I go there..
What do you make of the football culture in India?
India, I find amazing. The way they follow football... they will stay awake to watch a game. Like you said, cricket is the number one sport, but I always when it’s raining, people will start playing more football and I think it is growing slow and steady in India. One issue in India is when they are a certain age, 15 or 16, it’s not a good support and follow-up.
When I was in India, I was watching a TV show where they had to cross the line and where they caught you (kabaddi) and those guys looked like beasts, physically. So, Indians have the DNA to look strong. It’s about getting the right people to believe that Indian football can get bigger. I want to see an Indian player in the Premier League. It’s also about being patient.
I didn’t do any academy. Sometimes people feel that you need the best facility. You find talent on the streets. That’s where I came from. Do a mini tournament on the streets and find the best of each team and make a TV show and the best of them can have a trial in the Premier League.
I am just sending a lot of ideas, but I feel sometimes we want to create something big whereas that kid might be next door. I think you can find a massive talent on the Indian streets. That’s where you create your character and leadership. I played with friends of my brothers who were 20 years older than me. They were strong.
You just need to have the right people coming there and making sure that this is their priority and make sure they build those players.
Can we have your UEFA EURO 2024 predictions?
It is difficult to make a prediction before the tournament starts, but you can say who are my favourites. Of course France and it’s not because it is my country, but because if you look at the squad, there are no teams who have a better squad than us... the starting XI and the bench, but the biggest enemy of France is France itself. The French people, when we are too good, we become arrogant and too confident. And, it happened when we lost against Switzerland where we were winning 2-0 and we lost on a penalty. But I know Didier Deschamps as the manager, wants to win the trophy. I lost the final in 2016 against Portugal.
Then you have Germany, who are the hosts of the tournament and with a player like Toni Kroos coming back from retirement... you have the Netherlands and Spain. England were good in the qualification game, but when they come to the tournament, they feel the pressure and they can disappoint you. In the last Euro, they lost in the finals against Italy. So, you’ve got many contenders and I always have that feeling after the group stage. Some players have a long season like Jude Bellingham, who just won the Champions League with (Real) Madrid. They have to recover and be fresh again for a new and difficult competition. So, there are a lot of factors.
Besides the sporting milestones, what did your years in football give you?
Football saved me. It saved me from the streets, from starving; I used to beg money in shops when I was 13. Football educated me. I wasn’t great at school, but thanks to football and meeting different teammates, I now speak six languages. Also, discovering the world. Travel is probably the best education you can give to a kid.
So, football gave me a lot. Now, I want to give back. When I finished my coach license, people asked me why I wasn’t coming back to (Manchester) United. My heart right now is to help people and make them happy. When I do those videos on social media, there was a comment from someone who had lost his dad and that my videos made him smile. This is more important than winning the Champions League or any trophy in the world. This is the place I am in right now, but yes, football gave me everything.
You have been vocal about child rights, given your own unfortunate experiences. Do you think one completely heals from that kind of trauma or do you think talking about it has helped?
It’s a difficult question to give the right answer to. First of all, I am not the victim, I call myself the survivor. Sometimes things happen in life where you have to live with this trauma. It’s not about healing but about how to live with that trauma. You will always have that scar. But, it’s your choice. Do you give up or do you fight? I don’t like when people say, ‘Oh Patrice, you are really brave’. No. First of all, people don’t want to talk about it. They feel shame and guilt and they don’t know if people are going to believe them. Look at me. It happened when I was 13 and I opened myself when I was 38. So, it’s about timing. You got to talk with someone where you feel safe, secure and there is no judgement.
So, I don’t think you will heal, but what are you going to do with it? It happened. You can’t change the past. I am someone who lives in the present. If you think about the past, you will live with regret. If you think about the future, you are going to live with anxiety and stress. So, focus on the present. Let’s do it. Let go. It happened and you’ve got to live with it, but open up and talk about it and then you will help so many children. So, when you asked me what’s the thing that drives me right now, it’s my social impact and protecting those children. The stats are crazy. One of two children experience violence, sexual or psychological and we don’t talk. I don’t judge them because I have been there, but they are not alone any more. I was a defender on the pitch, but I am now a defender of children all around the world.
Your Instagram is a riot. Do you manage it yourself?
Yes, yes! (Laughs) Sometimes, I ask my team to make the post, but I have got 10 people inside my brain. One day I can be your educator, one day motivator and another day, your clown. I love that. This is my personality, but you are always going to get the real Patrice. Not fake. I am not trying to be someone I am not.
I will never know what I am going to do. It depends on when I wake up, on what I see, listen to and that’s where my inspiration comes from... as soon as you press ‘play’, my brain goes crazy. (Laughs)
Patrice Evra is the expert panellist on Sony Sports Network’s studio show Football Extraaa for UEFA EURO 2024. Watch UEFA EURO 2024 from 15th June 2024, LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD, Sony Ten 5 SD & HD