It wasn't the first time Patrice Evra has ignited controversy since becoming a football pundit, and for sure it will not be the last.
The eccentric Frenchman and former Man United favourite rocked up at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to work for French TV sporting a provocative red suit, topped off with red tinted glasses. And just moments after the final whistle, the pantomime villain was in the thick of things, involved in an altercation with City staff as their players celebrated reaching the Champions League final.
Pep Guardiola's assistant Manel Estiarte eventually had to be separated from Evra, who soon appeared on American channel CBS to explain the unsavoury scenes. The 42-year-old claimed that City staff had targeted him after his analysis of 12 months ago, when he said City had "s*** themselves" amid their semi-final defeat to the team they dispatched on Wednesday, Real Madrid.
Mirror Sport looks at five other times Evra has been central to a bizarre storm.....
'Patronising' a female pundit in Russia
Evra's punditry bow came with ITV at the 2018 World Cup in Russia - and Eni Aluko could have been forgiven for wishing his stint and ended there too.
Aluko, capped 102 times by England women, had just delivered detailed analysis of Costa Rica's playing style ahead of their Group E clash with Serbia. After she finished speaking, co-pundit Henrik Larsson said: "That's very good," whilst Evra started applauding loudly.
The ex-French international repeated this moments later, after Aluko praised, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, leading presenter Jacqui Oatley to ask: "Are you going to sit here applauding Eni's punditry all day?" To which Evra replied: "This is just amazing. I think we should leave, Henrik, because she knows about more football than us! I'm really impressed, you know."
It was as patronising as it was pathetic.
Romancing with a raw chicken
If Evra left Russia having made a dubious impression on football fans, then months later those same supporters were asking whether he'd lost his marbles completely.
He posted a social media of himself licking a raw chicken - also proceeding to suck and kiss the piece of poultry. This was of course, an apparent prelude to Evra celebrating Thanksgiving - which may have just about been plausible had the chicken actually been cooked at the time.
Pedalling unfounded allegations about Zaha
Back in 2013, rumours that Wilfried Zaha's Manchester United career was ruined by a relationship with David Moyes' daughter proved totally unfounded.
So only natural then, that seven years later Evra would refer to the nonsense whilst speaking live on air on Sky Sports. Speaking as to why Zaha had not not made it at Old Trafford before returning to Crystal Palace, Zaha said: "I remember what ruined his career for Manchester United is when he had this true or untrue affair with David Moyes' daughter.
"Because in the pre-season I remember he was playing every game but when that news came out, (he was) out of the game and he disappeared. He would be a massive trade for United."
Presenter Kelly Cates later apologised on behalf of Sky Sports for the comments.
Rinsing Ronaldo for sheep-related rumours
Believe it or not, back in September 2021 criticising the newly returned Cristiano Ronaldo was a no-go with the Man United faithful.
Even when far-fetched tales emerged of the Old Trafford icon having to move house due to loud noises from the animals disturbing his famous sleep patterns. Evra of course, responded with another social media video, which showed him transporting sheep on a boat after using a whistle to herd them up. As you do.
The post's caption read: "Don't worry bro @cristiano I'm moving my sheep (sheep emoji) far away from your (house emoji) shepherd mister #ilovethisgame can do everything #positive4evra @skysports."
Ronaldo, incidentally, didn't reply.
Evra blames Bill Gates for Covid
If there is one person you could have backed to have an outspoken view on the Covid-19 pandemic, it would probably have been Patrice Evra.
He initially released a social media post in April 2020 urging people to stay at home and pledged to help provide meals for NHS workers, before a later u-turn as he labelled the whole pandemic "political" in another incoherent rant. "At the moment I think we are talking too much about this Covid," Evra told BFM TV. "We have to be honest, there are people who have died of Covid, but I have the impression today that even if you are in a car accident, we are going to say it is because you have Covid."
Backing people's right not to be vaccinated, in fairness a view shared by others, the former Premier League winner then somewhat bizarrely altered the direction of the debate to Billionaire Gates: "Because there is Bill Gates who already spoke about it in a conference in 2013. Afterwards I'm not someone [who says] this thing was programmed but I prefer, if people spoke about it one day, because that I always speak frankly but the Covid, personally, for me, it does not scare me."
Yep, that's all clear Patrice.
