Patrice Evra Evra was named to the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 2 Team of the Year in the left-back position. Following the season, Evra was recruited by Nice's Derby de la Côte d'Azur rivals Monaco. Despite wanting to play as a left winger again, Evra was advised by manager Didier Deschamps he would only play as a left-back. Evra has since credited Deschamps for allowing him to become a better defender after initially describing the role as being not fun. Evra was inserted into a back four that consisted of centre-backs Rafael Márquez and Sébastien Squillaci and right-back Franck
Patrice Evra Evra revealed he preferred to move to England to join Manchester United. The following day, Manchester United officially issued a transfer bid for the player. On 6 January, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed a deal for Evra was reached. Four days later, the transfer was official as Evra joined the club for a transfer fee of around £5.5 million and signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. Evra's arrival signalled Ferguson's intention to shore up the club's defence that had suffered since the sidelining of Gabriel Heinze. After joining the club, Evra affirmed that Manchester was his only future destination: "I was