Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has paid a personal tribute to former team-mate Patrice Evra.
The full-back spent eight years at United, helping the Reds to claim five Premier League titles and one Champions League in that time, before departing for Juventus in the summer of 2014.
But in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday, the 38-year-old confirmed his retirement from football.
"My playing career is officially over," Evra told the Italian publication.
"I started training for the UEFA B Coaching Licence in 2013, now I want to finish it and then go on to get the UEFA A licence.
"In a year and a half, if everything goes well, I’ll be ready to lead a team."
And now Ferdinand, reacting to the news, has penned his own personal tribute to the former France international.
He wrote on Instagram: "Patty we done some great things together on the pitch, great player, consistent over many years and you always wanted to win (but you never in your life beat me at 2 touch). Will go down as one of the best left backs the @premierleague has ever seen!
"Off the pitch you was like our in-house interpreter at Utd....how you, Carlos and Ji became so close is testament to your language skills!
"Whatever you choose to do in the next chapter just don’t let it involve raw chicken because you very nearly lost a friend with that sh*t there! Good Luck @patrice.evra ❤️ #ilovethisgame #LilPatty #Evra."
