Evra Sad To See Vidic Leave

Patrice Evra admits he will be sad to see Nemanja Vidic leave Manchester United when the Serbian defender joins Inter Milan this summer.

Vidic has agreed a switch to the Italian side when his contract expires at the end of the season and will depart Old Trafford after eight-and-a-half-years, having originally moved to the Reds during the 2006 January transfer window – the same time as Evra himself.

"It's painful to lose Vida," said the Frenchman whose nickname for Vida is 'The Rock'. "For me, he is a great centre-back. When you see a player like Vidic leaving the club, you feel really sad."

The pair endured a tough start to life in England, with Evra recalling one particularly difficult performance. However, they soon adapted and helped to form what was one of Europe's finest defences for many years, picking up plenty of silverware in the process.

"When you speak about Vida, it’s like you’re speaking about myself," the full-back continued. "We joined the club together. I remember the first game was so hard. In one match, we played in the reserves together. We were so poor!

"Rene Meulensteen was the [reserve team] manager and he took us both off! We were talking in the dressing room and saying: 'Oh my, why have we come to Manchester United? We should go back to our old clubs!'

"It was a difficult moment but we stuck together. We’ve been in the same hotel going into training and, together, we’ve won the same trophies. I’m really sad to lose him."