PATRICE EVRA bravely opened up on his mum’s health battle that left his family in tears.
And he revealed it is the emotional reason behind a subtle tribute he makes on his social media content.
The former Manchester United defender, 44, has amassed a whopping 13.5million Instagram followers.
Since retiring, he has stayed in the public limelight, regularly posting crazy videos and trademarking his “I love this game” catchphrase.
But often the Frenchman appears in his clips wearing just one shoe.
And now, for the first time, he has revealed why – and it is a special nod to his doting mother Juliette.
Evra told Pluto TV’s Yellow Couch show with Jeremy Lynch: “People ask me in the comments every time, ‘why is he wearing one shoe?’ ‘He doesn’t have enough money’ or whatever.
“No, actually, every time I do a video and I’m not wearing the left shoes, I dedicate all my videos to my mum.
“Because in 2010, I was with the French national team and my brother called me and said, ‘Patrice, you need to come to the hospital.’
“He said mummy had a stomach problem.
“I asked the manager and the next day I went to the hospital.
“When I arrived in the corridor, everyone was crying. I saw my brother and sister. I said, ‘Wow, this is weird.’
“Then I went to the room. My mum was on the bed and I kissed her. Then I sat next to her. It was only when I pulled off the blanket, that’s when I saw the left leg was missing.
“Of course, I went mad. I nearly killed the doctor for cutting the leg off my mum.
“I have never said this before because it’s personal, but it’s quite funny when you see it.
“But actually, every time I do a video, I just dedicate it to my hero, my mum.
“It was difficult at the beginning but my mum has her fake legs and she dances.
“Now she has Alzheimer’s so it’s quite a tough time with my mum but she stays positive.”
Evra spent eight-and-a-half years at Old Trafford between 2006 and 2014.
He racked up 379 appearances for the Red Devils, winning five Premier Leagues and the Champions League before adding two Serie A-Coppa Italia doubles with Juventus.
The left-back retired from professional football after a short stint with West Ham in 2018.
But it was after he hung up his boots that he first opened up on the sexual abuse he experienced as a 13-year-old child by the teacher he stayed with.
I always felt like a coward because I could have helped other kids… I call myself not a victim, a survivor
Patrice Evra,
Evra initially told his long-term partner Margaux Alexandra after they watched a TV documentary on a paedophile.
He then explained what happened in his autobiography in 2021.
Evra hung the phone up on the police investigating the teacher earlier in his career.
But after plucking up the courage to tell his family – including travelling to Paris to let his mother know – he decided to speak about it publicly to help others who have suffered similar abuse.
Evra – the only footballer to do a speech at the United Nations – added to Lynch: “I had this burden inside.
“When I was playing for Monaco, I remember I was 24 years old. The police called me because they had a complaint about this teacher. And they said, ‘You were living in his house. Patrice, did something happen to you?’ I said, ‘No.’ They said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘No,’ and then put the phone down.
“I always felt like a coward because I could have helped other kids.
“But people need to understand when those things happen to you, you don’t want to share with people because you don’t know if they’re going to trust you, they may call you a liar, see you in a different way.
“Also, you want to switch off your brain to erase it.
“I call myself not a victim, a survivor.
“The most difficult game in my life is when, at 38 years old, I had to travel to Paris and tell my mum. This was my one of my biggest challenges.
“It’s really taboo in many places. We did some research: in a school class or a football team, one in two children have been mentally or sexually abused.”
