Ex-Man Utd star Patrice Evra given suspended jail sentence for abandoning wife and kids

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra has been handed a suspended jail sentence after being found guilty of abandoning his family.

The former France captain, 43, has been ordered to pay his wife €4,000 for moral damages and a further €2,000 in legal costs.

Evra was handed the suspended prison sentence for failing to pay close to £1million in alimony to his ex-wife.

Judges in the Paris suburb of Nanterre ruled that Evra, 43, had effectively "abandoned" Sandra Evra, 42, and their children – a boy who is now 19 and a girl, aged 10 – between May 1, 2021, and September 28, 2023.

Lawyers for the footballer immediately appealed Tuesday’s verdict, which followed years of litigation.

Evra, a multimillionaire following a hugely successful playing career, was alleged to owe his ex-wife a total of €969,000 (£814,000) in unpaid alimony.

"The sentence was 12 months in prison, suspended for two years," a prosecuting source at the Hauts-de-Seine Correctional Court said on Friday.

"Mr Evra’s legal team immediately appealed."

Evra was also ordered to pay his ex-wife €4,000 (£3,360) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,700) in legal costs.

Nathalie Dubois, Ms Evra’s barrister, said: "I hope that, thanks to this decision, Patrice Evra will finally understand that he is not above the law and that we cannot abandon our wife and children overnight.

"Even more so when they met at the age of 15 and she followed him all over the world to support his football career."

Jérôme Boursican, for Mr Evra, insisted to Le Parisien that "the facts are disputed" by his client.

Mr Boursican said: "Mr. Patrice Evra appealed, knowing that he provided his wife with an apartment, a house with a swimming pool in the south of France and that he lent her almost two million euros for her daily life.

"A sum that she refuses to return, and this is the reason for this trial."

The Evras married in 2007, but divorce proceedings were instigated around 2020, when the former Manchester United, Juventus, and Marseille defender was pictured kissing Danish model Margaux Alexandra.

Since then, Mr Evra and Margaux Alexandra have had two children of their own together, and are believed to be living in Dubai.

Last year, the ex-Red Devils captain was fined €1000 (£890) and ordered to pay €2000 (£1780) compensation to two anti-hate campaign groups for posting homophobic abuse.

Stop Homophobia and Mousse complained in March 2019 when Evra posted a video of himself on social networks following a game between United and Paris St Germain.

"Paris, you are queers, you are queers" said Evra, causing outrage across France and beyond following the Champions League game.

Alleging that his old club was more macho than PSG, Evra added: "Here, it’s the men who talk."

Evra was born in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and then moved to Paris as a young child.

In 2020, Sandra Evra spoke publicly about the affair that finally led to divorce after 25 years together.

She said their "lifelong love story turned into a nightmare" and the man she once adored has turned into a "bullying rat".

She said: "We had a wonderful family Christmas, an amazing holiday in the Maldives together and at New Year we kissed and cuddled together after spending a night as a family with our son and daughter.

"Two days later he left our home in Paris to go to work in London saying he would be back two weeks later. And I have never spoken to him since. He has tried to cut me out of my life.

"I saw photographs of him with another woman in London and then I got a call from my solicitor telling me that he wanted to divorce me.

"It was the worst day of my life. I was in shock, devastated, distraught."

The couple were just 15-years-old when they met at school in Les Ulis – the Paris suburb that has produced numerous Premiership stars - and Sandra describes the moment as "love at first sight".

Sandra Evra decided to speak out after Mr Evra gave an interview in August 2020, saying that they only met at "family moments" and were no longer "sharing the same roof'.

Patrice Evra's football journey began in France after moving from Senegal as a youth.

He rose through the ranks, making a notable impact at AS Monaco before his pivotal move to Manchester United in 2006.

He made 379 appearances for Man Utd before leaving to join Juventus in 2014.

During his time at Old Trafford he won five Premier League titles, three League Cups and a Champions League title.

Internationally, Evra earned 81 caps for France, featuring in multiple World Cups and European Championships.