Carlos Tevez left in floods of tears over Man Utd fixture played on New Year’s Day
The Christmas and New Year fixture list is nearly always incredibly hectic and can often take its toll on players who aren’t used to England’s traditional festive football feast.
More often than not, those who struggle to come to terms with the busy schedule are players who have arrived in the Premier League from another division abroad that often pause proceedings around this time of year to give the stars a break.
Former Manchester United man Carlos Tevez was seemingly no different according to his ex-Old Trafford team-mate Patrice Evra. The Frenchman revealed he once walked in on the Argentine in tears ahead of a clash against Newcastle on New Year’s Day.
Speaking to reporters, the former Red Devils defender recalled: “I remember we played on New Year’s Day at Newcastle. I remember the night before we had dinner at 7pm, then at 7:30pm everyone went to their room.
“I went to my bedroom and I remember I went to see Carlos Tevez in his room, and he was in tears, I said “Carlito, what’s happened?” He said to me that it’s a tradition to celebrate with family and he was so emotional that he wasn’t with his kids, it was quite tough for him.
“I woke up the next day and it was like nothing had happened and people were just like “oh yeah, Happy New Year.”
Patrice Evra has explained how he once walked in on Carlos Tevez crying because Man Utd were forced to play on New Year’s Eve
Evra went on to explain how he himself also originally struggled to come to terms with playing over the festive period as it was unlike any of the other European leagues he starred in over the course of his career.
“Initially a weird experience playing at Christmas,” he conceded. The first time I played over Christmas, it was a really weird experience.
“Even New Year’s Eve was weird. In France you normally have a break, like in Italy too.”
The current crop of Red Devils talent will be no different from the likes of Evra and Tevez, with Erik ten Hag’s side called into action on New Year’s Eve this year for an away clash at Wolves.
Thankfully, this tie is an early kick-off meaning United’s stars should be back home with plenty of time to see in the new year with their nearest and dearest.
There will be limited time to truly rest and recover however, as United are tasked with another fixture just three days later when they welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford aiming to strengthen their bid for a top-four finish.
