Evra was always happy to take his share of direct instructions from Ferguson, with one particularly memorable team talk being delivered ahead of a Champions League semi-final clash with Lionel Messi and Barcelona in 2008.
Evra, who was lining up alongside five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo at that time, added on facing another GOAT: “Ferguson, in front of everyone, started the meeting like this: ‘Oh guys, today it’s an important game and if we lose it’s because of Patrice’. We looked at each other and I was thinking, ‘Okay this is a lot of pressure’. Ferguson said: ‘Patrice, I don’t care about Messi being the best football player in the world, whatever. If we lose – if we don’t keep Messi quiet – I am going to blame you’. He knew me and he knew how to manage me.
“I know who I am. I know my education. I know where I grew up. I never wanted Alex Ferguson to say, ‘Well done, you played a good game’. I wanted Alex Ferguson to kill me and say, ‘You missed that f*cking pass’. Because I wanted to be perfect.”