It's been a busy ol' week for Manchester United legend Patrice Evra.

On Monday the 38-year-old announced his retirement from professional football, 21 years after his senior career began with Italian side Marsala.

And on Tuesday a wide-ranging interview with The Player's Tribune was published, in which Evra discussed everything from growing up in the suburbs of Paris to discovering his love for football.

It was at Monaco where Evra started to make a name for himself as he reached the 2004 Champions League final aged just 23.

Evra started against Jose Mourinho's Porto but ended up on the losing side.

Two years later he was scouted and signed by Sir Alex Ferguson at United and that's where he would stay until 2014.

In that time, Evra won five Premier League titles, three League Cups, five Community Shields and the Champions League once to become a club legend.

However, the Frenchman's time at Old Trafford didn't get off to the best of starts, as he revealed in the aforementioned interview.

Evra made his debut away to Manchester City on January 14, 2006, and it's safe to say he had an absolute nightmare.

Fergie started him at left-back but was forced into a substitution at half-time. He said after the game: "Maybe it was a bit of a gamble playing Evra."

Thirteen years on and Evra has revealed he was sick before the City game after eating pasta and beans for breakfast. He almost told Sir Alex that he couldn't play.

In the end he decided to stay quiet, but it all went downhill from there.

"In January 2006, I was signed by Manchester United," Evra wrote. "You might remember that I made my debut away to Manchester City. Big derby.

"The game kicked off at 12.45pm, which was unusual for me as a Frenchman. I'm not big on traditional breakfasts, so I didn't know what to eat to get ready.

"I went for pasta and beans. I got sick. I was vomiting. I went to my room wondering what to do.

"Should I tell Ferguson that I can't play, that I'm sick? No Patrice, you can't! You’ll look soft and scared. You have to play.

"On the bus to the stadium, I was feeling dizzy. It was sunny, it felt hot. In Manchester! Come on. I went up for a header against Trevor Sinclair. BOOM! An elbow in my face. Blood everywhere.

"I was losing it. You know the cartoons where you have a bubble that says what the character is thinking? My bubble was saying, 'Oh my God, these guys are so fast, so strong. It was so nice in Monte Carlo...'

"At half-time, we were 2-0 down. Ferguson was raging. 'And YOU, Patrice,' he shouted. 'That's enough for you! You sit down and watch now, because you have to learn English football.'

"I took off my boots, wiped away some blood. We lost 3-1. I was really down."

Luckily for Evra, it all worked out in the end.