Patrice Evra On His Past: I Sell Drugs, Eat Big Macs Out Of The Trash... Football Saved Me

JAKARTA - Former France international Patrice Evra revealed that he had a very traumatic childhood. Evra was the victim of a number of harrowing experiences, including selling drugs.

Evra lives in a family where she is one of 24 siblings. But the 40-year-old admits that after his father left home, they had to do whatever it took to survive.

"Sometimes, in the middle of the night, when they were going to throw out the cold 'Big Mac', we'd take it out of the trash. After my dad left us, things fell apart," Evra said in an interview with BBC One.

“Football saved me. When I was 17, I went to Italy (he played at Marsala and Monza before joining Nice in 2002). I remember when I walked into my room, there was a tracksuit.

"I sell drugs, I beg and I work in a television shop. One is not true," said Evra.

"I don't sell televisions. I called my mom and said, 'This is heaven, someone is serving us food and we have two forks on one side and two knives on the other'."

The former Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus and Marseille player has opened up about his past through his autobiography 'I Love This Game', an open letter to The Players' Tribune, and other interviews.

In an interview with The Times, Evra admitted to having been a victim of sexual abuse as a child.

"I'm not ashamed when I admit that I felt like a coward for years for not talking about it," Evra said.

"It's something stuck to my chest. But I'm not doing this for myself, this is for the kids.

"I don't want anyone to feel ashamed for going through something like that."