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 Rica; France won the match 2–1. He was subsequently named the captain for the 2010 World Cup ahead of Thierry Henry, who was relegated to the bench for the tournament. Evra wore the armband in the team's first two matches, a 0–0 draw with Uruguay and a 2–0 loss to Mexico. On 19 June, striker Nicolas Anelka was dismissed from the squad after reportedly having a dispute, in which obscenities were passed, with Domenech during half-time of the team's loss to Mexico. The resulting disagreement over Anelka's exclusion between the players, the coaching staff and France Football Federation (FFF) officials