""I think I got lucky," Evra told The Telegraph. "I saw a picture of him. He was such a beast. "When I was with France a few weeks later Nicolas Anelka and [Florent] Malouda said to me, 'Patrice, we see this guy every day. He's massive. Were you sure about that?' "I said that I wasn't sure, I just went straight for him. "Scholesy said afterwards, 'Any time I go to the pub, I'm going to take you with me.'"
""[Sir Alex] Ferguson, in front of everyone, started the meeting like this," Evra remembered about the Barcelona fixtures. "'Oh guys, today it's an important game and if we lose it's because of Patrice.' "We looked at each other and I was thinking, 'Okay this is a lot of pressure.' Ferguson said: 'Patrice, I don't care about [Lionel] Messi being the best football player in the world, whatever. If we lose -- if we don't keep Messi quiet -- I am going to blame you.'"
A 2008 incident at Stamford Bridge involved Manchester United substitutes warming down and Chelsea groundsmen on the same pitch, resulting in a physical scuffle. The FA requested CCTV footage after Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1. Team-mates later joked about the groundsman's size and questioned whether Evra had been sure about confronting him. Sir Alex Ferguson singled out the player before crucial Barcelona fixtures, warning that responsibility for keeping Lionel Messi quiet could fall to him. Manchester United went on to win the Premier League and Champions League in 2007-08, and no regrets about match outcomes were expressed.
Read at ESPN.com
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