Patrice Evra: We all know that in 2022 they gave the World Cup to Messi

The South American giants beat France on penalties in the final.

In an interview, former Manchester United star Patrice Evra defended France manager Didier Deschamps and also revealed that FIFA gave Lionel Messi and Argentina the World Cup back in 2022. 

Evra defended Deschamps during his appearance on the RMC Sport show Rothen s’enflamme on Wednesday. The manager of France recently declared that he would step down at the end of the 2026 World Cup. It is unlikely that his successor will be revealed anytime soon.

But there is a lot of speculation about Zinedine Zidane taking charge of the national team. Kylian Mbappé stated that he would be “very happy” to see the former Real Madrid manager hired, despite efforts to silence rumours that Zidane is the clear favourite for the position. Evra finds this discussion about Deschamps’ succession upsetting.

“I find that there is a huge lack of respect towards Didier Deschamps given that we are talking about another national team manager while he is still in place,” began the former France international. 

He then continued, “There is a World Cup to prepare for. I don’t think that it will disturb the squad. The players should be focused on the present but we can’t speak about Zidane in every interview. We are speaking about Didier Deschamps. Are we not spoiled kids? Can people not stand being in the semi-final or final of every tournament? Do you prefer us to win or to play beautiful football?”

🗣 Patrice Evra: "We all know that in 2022 they gave the World Cup to Messi." Via @Rothensenflamme. Evra also lost three Champions League finals against Messi.pic.twitter.com/N03C76JJ8x

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) March 20, 2025

However, not only did the former full-back speak about Deschamps he also took a jibe at Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup. Evra feels that Messi won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar thanks to FIFA. In the competition’s final, Argentina defeated France on penalties.

Speaking during the interview Evra gave his assessment of the South American team lifting the trophy, saying:

“Okay, we haven’t won (a major tournament) since 2018 but we all know that in 2022, they gave the World Cup to Messi. It was all already written. Even the French wanted Messi to win it,” said Evra. 

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