Evra completes Juventus move

adamhigginsuk
Jul 21, 2014
3 min read

Long-serving: Evra has been at Manchester United since January 2006 and won every major trophy on offer with the FA Cup the only exception (Picture from Flickr.com)

PATRICE Evra has completed a £1.2 million move from Manchester United to Juventus, signing a two-year deal with the Serie A champions.

The Frenchman, who only signed a new one-year contract extension with United in May, was expected to play second fiddle to Luke Shaw next season following his £27m arrival from Southampton last month.

Evra scored 10 goals in 379 appearances during eight-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford, winning 10 major honours.

"After a great deal of thought I have decided the time is right for me to leave Manchester United. It is the biggest decision of my career as this club is, and will always remain, in my heart," the 33-year-old said in an open letter to fans on United's official website.

"Joining and playing for Manchester United has been a privilege, a dream come true and my time here has been so memorable.

"Through the good times and the bad times we have all stuck together and remained loyal. I have always said you don’t just join Manchester United, you join the family and long may that tradition continue."

Evra held fresh talks with new Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, who replaced Antonio Conte after his resignation last week, before putting pen to paper.

Juve will pay an initial £1.2 million fee with an additional £300,000 triggered if the Italian giants qualify for the 2015-16 Champions League while Evra will receive around £55,000 per week.

It is the second high-profile arrival at the Turin club in a matter of days after Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata completed a £15 million move.

The decision to leave United is understood to have come about after Evra's wife declared her wish to move away from the area.

Evra's departure - which was approved by United boss Louis van Gaal, who left him out of the squad to fly to the USA for pre-season - follows the sale of fellow left-back Alexander Buttner to Dynamo Moscow earlier this summer.

The experienced defender initially struggled to settle into the Premier League after signing from AS Monaco for £5.5 million in January 2006.

He was substituted at half-time on his debut against rivals Manchester City in a 3-1 derby defeat, but quickly established himself as the club's first-choice left-back ahead of Gabriel Heinze as United won the title five months later.

Since then, Evra has become one of the most reliable and consistent performers at Old Trafford and was named captain by Sir Alex Ferguson when Nemanja Vidic was absent from the team.

He has also been an integral part of the French national team, selected for the 2014 World Cup ahead of Manchester City's Gael Clichy and played four of their five matches in the tournament.

United are still actively seeking to improve their defence with Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels, Arsenal centre-back Thomas Vermaelen and Stefan de Vrij of Feyenoord all being linked with moves.

Vice-chairman Ed Woodward has assured United fans to expect new signings in the coming weeks as van Gaal looks to transform their fortunes after a disastrous 2013-14 campaign.

EVRA AT UNITED: