Evra wanted to wait for Vidic in Man Utd car park after furious training fight
Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra has sensationally revealed how close he came to a fight with old team-mate Nemanja Vidic after a furious training ground bust-up.
The revelation was made in an extract from Evra's upcoming autobiography and occurred during the final days of David Moyes' doomed reign back in 2014.
Both Evra and Vidic arrived simultaneously at Old Trafford back in 2006 in the January transfer window.
The pair won a host of trophies during their successful spells in Manchester, but it's been revealed that the pair didn't always get on.
On the pitch, Evra and Vidic helped transform United's fortunes at the back, but away from the grass, the Frenchman revealed earlier this month that the pair once didn't talk for "three months".
And now, in an extract from “I Love This Game” by Patrice Evra in The Times, Evra has lifted the lid on an explosive confrontation that threatened to boil over with United under heavy pressure under beleaguered ex-boss Moyes.
"We won away at West Brom in the first game after Olympiacos, but then we lost 3-0 at home to Liverpool, a disastrous result. David called a meeting of the defenders the following day. Nemanja Vidic was coming back from injury and it was common knowledge that he was leaving for Inter Milan at the end of the season.
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"David went through all the defensive players and picked out Nemanja and Phil Jones for criticism for their positioning. Suddenly, Nemanja started swearing in Serbian. “Sorry, do you have a problem?” David asked a visibly emotional Nemanja. “We have to defend one against one, but Rafael and Patrice are always high, they think they are strikers, they need to stay back.”
"I disputed that, shouting, “You have to take your responsibility, Nemanja!” We stood up and argued, unable to hear each other above each other’s shouts. We started to square up and then I pushed him. David was going mad, telling me to calm down.
"David’s assistants were now keeping us apart as I shouted at Nemanja, “I’ll wait for you after training.” It escalated in no time. My plan was to wait for Nemanja and fight him after training because David’s assistants wouldn’t let me get near him at the club. I would see him in the car park and we could fight there and then, man to man.
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"As I was thinking my plan through, one of the coaches told me that the manager wanted to see me in his office. David was shocked — I don’t think he’d seen two players fight like that before. I told the manager that I was sorry, that I shouldn’t have pushed Nemanja. “Where did that strength come from, Pat?” he replied, surprised and laughing. “But seriously, you cannot fall out with Nemanja like that.” “I know,” I replied.
"I was still really angry, though, and went back home and planned how I was going to punch Vida the next day. I’d barely calmed down the next morning when I arrived at training and changed, but I didn’t see Vida all day. David told me not to do anything stupid and I promised him that I wouldn’t."
Moyes was appointed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson but struggled to follow in the footsteps of the famous scot during the 2013/14 season.
The ex-Everton boss was sacked shortly after the incident between Evra and Vidic, bringing the curtain down on his fleeting nine-month reign at Old Trafford.
Patrice Evra 2021 Extracted from “I Love This Game” by Patrice Evra, to be published by Simon & Schuster on October 28 at £20
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