Patrice Evra interview: Sir Alex Ferguson, Suarez and Carrick's Man United

Ayo Akinwolere (0:08)

Welcome to The Athletic FC Podcast with me, Ayo Akinwolere. Coming up today, we have a truly special interview. Manchester United legend Patrice Evra in conversation with Adam Crafton. They cover a huge amount of ground, including his relationship with the boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, the highs and lows of his Champions League final appearances, his reaction to his best friend, Carlos Tevez, crossing the divide to Manchester City, and his take on whether Michael Carrick should be handed the United job permanently. Well, let's dive in.

Adam Crafton (0:43)

Patrice, first of all, thank you for your time. Really appreciate it. Can you explain what you're doing in Arizona and the project that you're working on? As I understand it, it relates to projects to help athletes after they retire from sport. Is that right?

Patrice Evra (1:02)

Yeah, that's correct. It's my first time in Arizona, in Phoenix. The jet life is quite really heavy for us. But apart from that, now we enjoy it. And I came here for the PAC event. I met Chip, I was in the UAE, and he didn't know who I was, to be honest. But we just connect. We talked like just five minutes. Then suddenly he texts me back and said, Patrice, we need to do something. And he sees also how successful I was after retiring. And he explained to me the project about helping. Actually, we say about athletes, they already retire, but it's also currently athletes. So it's both of them. And to be honest, this project, this kind of view, nobody has done it around the world. Like even in Europe, we have a lot of associations where they can help the athletes on legal issues, but not as a business wise, as where you can invest, where you can work your creativity, because people sometimes think we are just athletes. Yes, we are athletes, but we also got a brain. And it's really important, especially when you retire, to understand what you want to do, what you want to invest, what you're passionate about. And I think PAK is the best partner to do it.

Adam Crafton (2:28)

So it's about helping athletes into the business world or into whichever career or creative space they want to go into.

Patrice Evra (2:35)

I think it is everything. First of all, it's a great network. It's about connecting people between them.

Sharing their experience. We are not here like doing those kinds of events and you're going to have a deal today. The most important is the human side. It's like sharing our knowledge. And maybe I'm passionate about something. Meeting someone is really passionate about that. And we can do something together. You know, I think sometimes people saw those kind of events and just as a jackpot or making money. No, I think the human side is really important. And that's my philosophy of life. And that's what I'm so excited today. To meet, I think, more than 280 athletes. Can you believe that? I think it's just amazing. And we're going to discuss in the room, having some chat and let's see what's going to come out of it.

Adam Crafton (3:23)

Yeah. I'd love to know how you found the experience of retiring because you seem someone on the pitch who lived every single moment that you loved going to training, being part of a group. And then all of a sudden you are an individual in the world, in the real world. How did you find that psychologically?

Patrice Evra (3:44)

You know, it's really funny because I live the present. I never think about the future because I don't want to live with anxiety and stress. I don't want to think about the past. I don't want to live with regret. So I'm like focused in the present. And when you retire, I think my main problem was like what I'm doing now. Because I was working on TV, I was an entrepreneur, a businessman, and doing my social impact about defending the, ending the violence against children. So I was doing so many things, then I was confused. I was like, before I can say I'm a football player, but now I'm everything. And like you say, I think as an individual now, I feel more free, I feel more content, and I feel I can do what I want to do. And what I'm doing is you don't need to be a genius. I'm just using the same tool, the same skill I had when I was the captain of the French national team or whatever. That's what I'm using in business. And what makes me happy now is to give back to the society. My mom always teach me more you give, more you receive. So I think I've been really blessed with my transition because I'm so content. I'm more happy now than when I used to play because people don't understand when, especially you perform at the height level, you're a monster, you're a machine. You have to hide all your emotion. You're just here to win. But when now, of course, I want to win every project I do. If I'm helping a kid, I want this kid to smile and to be happy. If I'm one project, I'm 100% on it. But it's not I've got more time in my hands. To be honest, I'm more busy now than when I used to play. But I just discover for me it's like just a new life, meeting new people, a different culture, different projects. So I just feel blessed and grateful.