“I went to my car and cried!”: Patrice Evra reveals his reaction to France’s defeat in the World Cup final

Manchester City legend Patrice Evra revealed he cried in his car after France’s defeat by Argentina in December’s World Cup final in Qatar.

The former France international, who earned 81 caps for Les Bleus in his legendary career, was overcome with emotion and in deep ‘pain’ after the defeat.

Didier Deschamps’ side overcame a poor first-half performance to draw level with Lionel Messi’s Argentina and push the game into extra time.

Both Messi and new France captain Kylian Mbappe scored in the further 30 minutes before the Albiceleste lifted the trophy on penalties.

Around four months later, Evra spoke to RMC about the toll the result was taking on him.

Patrice Evra revealed he cried “in his car” after watching France lose the World Cup final

Lionel Messi lifted the trophy for Argentina after handing France a crushing defeat in Qatar

France’s outstanding player Kylian Mbappe was overwhelmed with emotion after the final whistle

“I saw the game live and cried. I didn’t expect it.

“I’m telling you the truth, I went to my car and cried.

“For three days I was in pain,” added the defender. “And I said to myself, ‘Patrice, I know you love the French team’ … but it hurt me so much.

“And then, frankly, hats off to the French team,” Evra concluded, praising Les Bleus’ performance in reaching the final and fighting for a second consecutive World Cup.

The pundit went on to praise France’s star in the final, Mbappe, whose performance was hard to believe given his team’s defeat.

“You score a hat-trick, three goals in the final and you don’t win the final,” said Evra in disbelief. ‘See, it was amazing!’

After Argentina’s strong first half, Evra added that he thought, ‘That’s it.’

The first half, he noted, was “c***”.

“And then you come back, two by two – and then after you’ve lost. There was too much emotion, too much emotion.’

The Paris Saint-Germain star sparked France’s comeback with two goals in the second half

After Argentina won the cup, words of comfort from President Macron didn’t help either

The 24-year-old couldn’t hide his disappointment as he accepted his Golden Boot

After the match, Mbappe looked dejected and couldn’t smile even as he accepted the tournament’s Golden Boot.

Attempts by French President Emmanuel Macron to lift his spirits have been rebuffed.

Evra has a reputation for wearing his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the teams he vocally supports.

After his former club – with whom he spent eight years, seven of those under Premier League Hall of Fame manager Sir Alex Ferguson – beat Manchester City in the derby in January, the former player released a mocking video of himself in the he sings a revised version of ‘Don’ ‘t Look Back in Anger’ with a Liam Gallagher-style wig and a United shirt.