“If there is a homosexual in this locker room, let him go”: Patrice Evra’s painful account of his time in the Premier League

If there is a footballer who learned not to shut up anything and who always has an inspiring message for his fans, that is undoubtedly Patrice Evra, who is usually very active on social media and constantly shares his joy with his followers. In the last hours, the former footballer who wore the shirts of the AS Mónaco, Manchester United, Juventus y West Ham, among other teams, spoke of homophobia, rape, racism and other taboo subjects in sport.

Euro, from 40 years, visited the newspaper office The Parisian to have a meeting with some of his readers as part of the launch of the French version of his autobiography entitled I love this game, which from this Thursday, January 13, will be available in bookstores in your country.

In this interview, he addressed many topics. He even talked about the rape he suffered as a child and how he finally decided it was time to tell. According to his testimony, his courtship with the model Margaux Alexandra It changed his perspective and helped him bring out what was inside him.

“I kept that weight my whole life. When I was 24 years old and still playing AS Monaco, the police called me and said: ‘Mr Evra, has this man touched you?’. I said no. He insisted: ‘Are you sure?’ I repeated that no, I got angry and hung up. There had been complaints from other children … I felt like a coward. I was ashamed. I thought more about my notoriety, what people would think. What was the trigger was a woman. I met Margaux, the woman of my life, who managed to take away this toxic masculinity. I was blocking all my emotions. I was no longer crying, “he said. Euro, who added that one afternoon watching a program about pedophiles, he told his story to his partner, and then he traveled to tell his mother.

When asked about racism, the former captain of the Blues was blunt: “We must stop pretending to fight racism, to be hypocrites. I will tell you about the example of the Super League. It was debated everywhere. For four days I watched the media, the fans, everyone for a football cause, a project that had not yet started. I said, ‘But why don’t we have this same energy against racism?’ The Super League project was going to get a lot of money. Fighting racism does not interest anyone because it does not make the clubs lose money … For me it is not solved if the entrance of racists to the stadium is prohibited. The racist, goes home and will continue. The clubs also have their role to play. I remain confident, positive and we will try to make a difference for the next generation.”

Then he took a moment to talk about homosexuality in football and said that he had to live a difficult situation in the Premier League: “When I was in England, they brought someone in to talk to the team about homosexuality. Some of my colleagues said during this exchange: ‘It is against my religion, if there is a homosexual in this locker room, let him leave the club’, etc. At that point, I said, ‘Everybody shut up.’ I played with players who were gay. Face to face, they opened up with me because they were afraid to speak otherwise. There are at least two players per club who are gay. But if you say you’re gay in football, it’s over. “

Patrice Evra He also opined on the Paris Saint Germain and some of its players. For example, he said that Kylian Mbappé this “Too formatted” and that when he hears him speak he has the feeling of “Listen to a politician”. In addition, he said that Lionel Messi It is not the one who will make them lift the trophy of the UEFA Champions League.

“I played in Marseille, but I am Parisian and grew up here, although I have never been a PSG fan. I don’t understand that all French clubs are against PSG when they play the Champions League. For me, they represent France … If PSG win tomorrow, I would be very proud! But some players can’t take the pressure. Dani Alves told me: ‘Some players here think they are stars when they have never won anything.’ Now they recruited Messi, but it is not him who will make them win the Champions League. It is a collective, a state of mind. Its president does a great job, because we talk about Paris all over the world, but winning the Champions League is difficult. And I know: I went to the final five times and lost four! ”, He analyzed.

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