Patrica Evra has asked Manchester United fans to “forget me” after young defender Tyrell Malacia was compared to the former left-back.
In over eight years at Old Trafford, Evra won five Premier League titles and a Champions League, leading to the 41-year-old insisting that Malacia has a long way to go to reach his level despite his fine start.
“People have been comparing Malacia to myself, and guys, when you compare to me, they need to be the best left-back in the world, the best left-back in the Premier League for at least four years and they need to win the league, so give him time,” he told Betfair.
“I'm asking fans to give him the same time that they have given to Luke Shaw. You can see the determination, he's hungry to play and also he wasn't selfish. Those are really important qualities as a left-back.”
Evra believes that his recognition as one of United’s best recent defenders shows “something wrong” at the club given his hope that new players will step up and replace him in that category.
“If I have to give him advice, it would be to make sure he finds the right balance between attacking and defending,” Evra continued.
“I always say, the perfect left-back has that balance. If you attack too much people will say you don't defend, if you defend too much people will say you don't attack. He needs to find that balance and don't think about any comparisons with me. I want Malacia to be Malacia, not the new Patrice Evra. Luke Shaw had the same problem.
“This is my club, but I always want people and the fans to forget ‘Patrice Evra’. If the fans still speak about me, I'm glad about it, but it means something is wrong. I wish Malacia well and I wish he makes people forget about Patrice Evra.”
