Just days after a Malawian footballer received a live chicken as a Man of the Match award, former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has revealed why he once played with a piece of chicken in his boots.
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Evra, who recently announced his retirement from football after a 20-year career, spent four months during his time at Monaco playing with a piece of raw chicken in his boot.
Speaking to The Players' Tribune, the former France international revealed that he had taken to the strange practice on the advice of a club staff member after struggling to overcome an injury.
"People talk about when we made the Champions League final in 2004, but the craziest part at Monaco came after I had played a game for the French U21 team," Evra said.
"An opponent had stamped on my foot and damaged it badly. In hospital I told the Monaco coach, Didier Deschamps: 'It's too painful. I can't play. I can't even walk!'
"But the team needed me, so the doctors tried everything to take away the pain. Nothing worked. Then someone from the club staff said, 'Why don't you just go old school?'
"Everyone said, 'What do you mean?'
"He said, 'Just slide a chicken down his boot.'
Click through the gallery below to see Evra and 11 other stars, including a former Kaizer Chiefs defender, who retired in 2019:
"It sounded crazy but, you know me, I'm open-minded. So I went to my local butcher. The butcher said, 'What do you want?'
"I said, 'A piece of chicken. But just a tiny one.'
"He said, 'A tiny one? How come?'
"I said, 'I'm gonna put it in my boot.'
"He just laughed. I went home with the chicken. I ordered new boots: one in size 42.5, the other in size 44. I passed the ball. Felt okay. Painful, but okay.
"So I ended up playing with chicken in my boot for four months. I didn't train with it – my mother would never have forgiven me for wasting food – but before every game I would visit the butcher. 'Morning, Patrice. The usual, yeah?'
"The chicken enabled me to play so well that, in January 2006, I was signed by Manchester United."
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Evra went on to spend nine seasons at United, making 379 appearances, and winning five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in the process.
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