Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra announces his retirement

Former Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra has retired from playing at the age of 38.

Evra has been without a club since the conclusion last summer of a short-term deal with West Ham.

“My playing career is officially over,” Evra said in an interview to Gazzetta dello Sport reported in several media outlets. “I started training for the UEFA B Coaching License in 2013, now I want to finish it and then go on to get the UEFA A license.

“In a year and a half, if everything goes well, I’ll be ready to lead a team.”

The left-back was with Manchester United from 2006 to 2014, winning one Champions League title, the Premier League five times and the League Cup on three occasions.

The club tweeted on Monday: “Former #MUFC defender @Evra has announced his retirement from football. Thanks for the memories, Patrice!”

That message also appeared on Evra’s official Twitter account in a post that said: “#ForEvraRed”.

He had earlier said in a message on social media: “MERCI AU REVOIR #ilovethisgame #positive4evra #love #god #grateful #blessed #happy #MondayMotivation.”

Evra, who made 81 appearances for France, joined United in January 2006 from Monaco.

After his trophy-laden 12-year spell with the Red Devils, he joined Juventus and helped them win the Serie A and Coppa Italia double in both 2014-15 and 2015-16.

He moved on in January 2017 to Marseille, his spell with whom ended in November that year after he kicked one of the club’s fans before a Europa League match.

The incident saw Evra banned from UEFA competition for the rest of the season, but he was able to play domestically and joined West Ham two months later, going on to make five appearances.