Rothen files legal complaint against Evra after rant

Jerome Rothen has lodged a legal complaint against Patrice Evra after the former Manchester United defender threatened him in a social media outburst.

Ex-Paris Saint-Germain winger Rothen criticised Evra for posting footage of his celebrations from the Parc des Princes stands when United completed a stunning comeback against PSG in the Champions League last month.

Evra responded by threatening to "slap" Rothen the next time they meet, amid a nine-minute video uploaded to his Instagram account where he claimed his one-time Monaco team-mate was "always a salty faggot" and a "piece of shit".

Elsewhere in the expletive-laden rant, Evra used homophobic slurs that PSG condemned as "deeply shocking" and resulted in the Paris prosecutor’s office opening an investigation into the 37-year-old on Monday.

Speaking in his capacity as a pundit on RMC Sport, Rothen confirmed he had already decided to take legal action before the Paris authorities made their move.

"I had decided well before, with my lawyer, to make a complaint," he said.

Evra subsequently apologised for his outburst via a video on Twitter, claiming his words were misconstrued in a "massive, massive misunderstanding".

"I'm not homophobic, you know who I am [...] I love everyone," he said. "If I offend someone or I hurt someone, I really apologise.

"But you know it's not my intention, they're just trying to put me down. I understand about the equality; you have to be free whatever you do in life.

"I would never judge anyone. My mum raised me and educated me that way."