Patrice Evra group stage matches as Monaco finished in first place. For his performances in the first half of the 2003–04 season, Evra was linked with a 2004 winter move to English club Arsenal, Italian clubs Juventus and Milan, and Spanish club Barcelona. After appearing consistently with the team, on 24 March 2004, Evra suffered an ankle injury in the club's 4–2 first leg defeat to Spanish club Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Evra subsequently missed two weeks in the league, but was healthy enough to return for the team's second leg quarter-final tie against Madrid, which Monaco
Patrice Evra a police complaint. The viewers claimed to have lip-read Finnan abusing Evra during the televised match. Finnan denied the charge and, after an investigation, The Football Association (FA) decided against charging the player. Evra regularly alternated between the bench and the starting 11 to close out the campaign. He finished the season with 14 total appearances for his new club. In Evra's first full season as a Manchester United player, he struggled to consistently appear as a starter early on in the season as Ferguson preferred Evra's compatriot Mikaël Silvestre. After appearing as an unused substitute in United's first two