Paul Scholes wanted one of Sir Alex Ferguson's best Man Utd signings to 'leave on a free' when he first joined the club

Sir Alex Ferguson raised eyebrows in the Manchester United squad with what turned out to be one of the club's most successful signings.

Ferguson is United's most successful manager, winning 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups as well as two Champions League titles.

Crucial to his success was a stringent recruitment policy where he rarely got it wrong.

Ferguson was instrumental in bringing the likes of Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to Old Trafford but some of his less high-profile signings had an incredible impact on the club's fortunes.

One signing raised eyebrows immediately in training among some of the senior squad members. Patrice Evra arrived from Monaco in January 2006 for a fee of £5m but admitted he didn't leave the best first impression on his new teammates.

In an interview with Betfair, Evra said: "I love to be challenged in my life. I think that's when you see the best version of myself."

The Frenchman added: "I'll be honest with you, players like Paul Scholes, they said: 'Patrice I think you were a joke! I think we should send you back for free to Monaco!'".

Far from being intimidated by such comments, Evra worked tirelessly to get up to speed, developing the physical game he needed in order to thrive in England's top flight.

The 41-year-old recounted: "I remember some players like Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney they were laughing at me in training when people were pushing me down because I needed to adapt my football.

"I was a skilful player, I didn't know that first you needed to be strong. So first I went in the gym, which I never did while I was playing in France."

He added: "When people talk about me, it's not like a need them to surprise myself but that's when I think, okay guys, now it's show time."

As we all know, Sir Alex's gamble on the French international paid off in the long-run.

Evra would stay at Old Trafford for eight years, earning a Champions League winners medal in his second full season, as well as lifting five Premier League titles.

After playing 379 times for the Reds, he would go on to enjoy a successful spell at Juventus, where he'd pick up a further two league titles.

Stints at Marseille and West Ham United followed before he eventually called time on his career in 2018 at the age of 37.