Patrice Evra spoke at length about the role he played alongside Paul Pogba during his career, and his position as a big brother to a player who was too often distracted by extra-sporting matters. The former full-back also criticised the influence of those around him, who allegedly contributed to his lack of concentration and difficulty adapting to high expectations.
Uncle Pat’ has never lived up to his name so well. Close to Paul Pogba, whom he rubbed shoulders with at Manchester United and then at Juventus Turin, as well as in the French team, Patrice Evra was a guide for the player, twelve years his junior (31 years old, against 43).
Retired from the field, the former full-back spoke in the Stick to Football podcast about the role he played alongside his partner. According to Evra, Pogba needed to be framed, at a time when the extra-sporting player was able to take too much of a part in his career.
“It’s not about being a big fan of Paul Pogba, it’s about being his big brother,” he explained. “It’s about protecting him. I was tough on him when I joined Juventus. One day he told the press: ‘I deserve to win the Ballon d’Or’. I said: ‘Wait a minute, you’ve heard this before [Frank] Lampard saying that, you’ve heard it before [Andrés] Iniesta, Xavi or someone else? Calm down, you’re not ready for this.”
“I was on FaceTime with him, and I saw a lot of people in his room.”
Evra believes that the “Pick” was not prepared to handle the media pressure and expectations raised by his record transfer to the Red Devils (105 million euros, in 2016). Although he won the Grail with a world title with the Blues in 2018, Pogba gradually experienced a slow decline, multiplying physical problems and struggling to find his best level. “With Paul, we see him like that, but inside, he is not so strong and he protects himself, and that’s why I tried to protect Paul, because sometimes it was unfair, continues Evra. People talked more about his hairstyle or his dancing than judging him on the pitch. Even sometimes, he wasn’t playing, they said: ‘United lost because of Paul Pogba’.”
Evra also gives a telling anecdote about a scattered Pogba, in Manchester, before an English clash against Liverpool. “The day before the match, I was on FaceTime with him, and I saw a lot of people in his room. He was signing shirts, so I asked him if he was ready for the match. He told him he was. I remember it was one of the worst matches he had played. He told me after the match that I was right, that he was not focused. But it was his entourage, his entourage who let him down.”
Already undermined by his misfortunes, Paul Pogba has experienced a real descent into hell since his kidnapping and the famous “Pogba affair” in 2022. His four-year suspension for doping in early 2024, after testing positive for testosterone a few months earlier, was the final blow. He has not set foot on a pitch since September 3, 2023 with Juventus Turin, with whom he is still under contract until June 2026.
Romain Daveau RMC Sport journalist
