Patrice Evra not very keen to go forward in the talks with Arsenal, Liverpool or Real Madrid. They all talked with my agent in the past two seasons. But to me, it was over. As I said to the Monaco officials, I only wanted to hear about Manchester." Evra initially had some problems adapting to the English game. He made his debut for the club on 14 January in a 3–1 away defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League. He was substituted out at half-time after failing to make an impact. After the conclusion of the match, Ferguson stated, "Maybe it
Patrice Evra was a bit of a gamble playing Evra," while the player himself admitted that "playing for Manchester United was something I was not prepared for". Despite the initial set-back, Evra started in the team's ensuing match against Liverpool, a 1–0 victory, and was praised for his performance by teammate Rio Ferdinand. On 26 February, Evra appeared as a substitute in United's 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic in the 2006 League Cup final. On 2 March, it was reported that Liverpool defender Steve Finnan had racially abused Evra in the match. The abuse claims surfaced from two deaf television viewers lodging