difficulty he experienced in deciding whether or not to
leave Manchester United last year.
Patrice Evra says he agonised over his decision to leave
Manchester United for Juventus last year and came close to
changing his mind.
The French full-back brought a successful eight-year stay at Old
Trafford to a close when he signed for the Italian giants in July
2014, winning Serie A and reaching the final of the Champions
League in his first season in Turin.
The former Monaco man came close to staying though, with his
wife's desire to leave England and Juve's determined pursuit of
his services ultimately swaying him.
"The only person who takes the full responsibility why I leave
Man United is myself," he told the Sunday Times. "I am the one
to make the choice.
"Juventus had already talked to me. The challenge was so
exciting. [Former coach Antonio] Conte had called me a lot
during the World Cup. It was not difficult to go to Juventus,
because it is such a big, historic club. But it was difficult to
leave Manchester United."
According to Evra, both former United manager David Moyes, as
well as his successor Louis van Gaal and club chief executive
Ed Woodward sought to convince the France international to
reject the advances of the Italian champions.
"The president of Juventus, Andrea Agnelli called me and said
'Look, we didn't put your contract to the Italian league [yet], you
can change your mind, but we really want you here.'
"And I feel somebody really wants me strongly, with a lot of
respect.
"After that … I call Ed Woodward to say, 'I am sorry, I already
gave my word to Juventus, I can't go back [on it].'"
Opting to reject Juventus could have prompted a role change for
Evra at United.
The 34-year-old claimed Van Gaal offered him a position as a
central defender in the 3-5-2 formation employed - with
indifferent results - by the Dutchman early in his reign last
season.
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