Evra recalls Vidic fight that forced Sir Alex into Man Utd change

Will Ford

Patrice Evra has revealed a fight between him and Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United resulted in them not speaking for three months.

The pair won five Premier League titles together, as well as the Champions League in 2008.

But Evra claims Sir Alex Ferguson was forced to move Rio Ferdinand from right centre-back to left so Vidic and the Frenchman were separated, such was the rift between them.


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Evra and Vidic both joined United in the winter window of the 2005-06 season and Evra recounts how they both initially struggled at the Premier League giants.

Evra told Manchester United’s official website: “We arrived at the same time and we struggled together. We were at the same hotel, I remember, and we were so bad at the beginning, me and him.

“The manager sent us to play with the reserves and the coach was Rene (Meulensteen). After 45 minutes, he subbed us – in the reserves. In the dressing room, Vida was saying, ‘My agent called me, I need to go back to Moscow.’ Also, my agent called me and said they had [interest from] AS Roma. It was difficult here.

“So we struggled together. It’s why I have a lot of respect for Vida.”

He went on to add: “To be honest, we also fought. We had a fight, me and him, and didn’t speak for three months.

“We played together and we didn’t even say a word. I never told him to go left or go right. He was the same. Ferguson had to swap Rio Ferdinand to play on the left side with me.

“It was like that for three months until, after a game, I remember he came to me in the dressing room and gave me a high-five. Everyone was like ‘finally’ because we were best friends together, Vida and me. We have a deep story together.

“I love him so much. We struggled but we were really real, me and him. If we were doing something wrong, we’d argue but, in the same way, it was a really great relationship.”

Both Evra and Vidic became formidable parts of United’s back four during their time at the clubs, with the Frenchman making 379 appearances and the Serbian centre-back reaching 300 games for the club.