Patrice Evra: Learning How To Cry Saved My Life!

For me, playing was (smacks lips) ... it was just a dream. It's Patrice Evra. (crowd cheers) Growing up, it's a family, 24 brothers and sister, one breast chicken was for three days. Growing up in the street, you need to survive. Now, when I have those image in my head, I could hear him trying to touch me and touching himself in the same time next to the bed, you know? And I was even attaching my pajama with my shoelaces because to make sure, like, he can't put it down. And, uh, one day, he did, and I was just, like, terrorized. So, that's the things I grew up with. Like, you know, I can't cry. For me, crying was a sign of weakness. When I do a video and I see a comment, someone say, "Oh, Patrice, my dad pass away. I watch one of your video and I smile. Thank you," this is more important for me than winning the Champions League or the Premier League. I'm not perfect, and I don't wanna be perfect. I wanna be me. (upbeat music)

Patrice Evra. I've just sat here with him for an hour and a half, and at the very end of the conversation he said something which I think is the perfect description of the man. He referred to himself as an iceberg. I've followed him for almost two decades, and he was, to me, this football icon, this tough guy, this defender, this champion. But as he says in this conversation, the part of the iceberg that I never got to see was the most compelling, was the most heartbreaking, and was the most interesting. He grew up in a rough part of France with 24 brothers and sisters. He was sexually abused by his head teacher. His brother, a drug addict, overdosed and died. His mother raised him in total poverty to the point where he stole his food, his shoes, and his entertainment. He endured an early upbringing that you would never wish on any child, an enemy, or anyone at all, in any circumstances ever, and he hid it all. He hid it all for his entire life. And only recently has he found it within himself, after very personal conversations with his mother, to share it with the world. And only today, on this podcast, has he decided to share some of those heartbreaking details. After watching him on TV for almost two decades, I thought I knew Patrice Evra, this comedian, football champion, funny guy, happy guy. (sighs) I was wrong. All I knew was the tip of the iceberg. So, without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. (upbeat music) I've sat here with a lot of guests, and sometimes I feel obliged to start with their childhoods because it seems like the- the foundation of most people, specifically successful people, tends to be the case that the things they go through at an early age, especially with my sort of little background in childhood psychology, tend to shape them the most. But when I read your story in your book that's just come out, um, having watched you on screen as a Manchester United fan for many ...