Man Utd legend Patrice Evra receives suspended sentence after being found guilty of family neglect

Former Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of abandoning his family for over two years.

It is alleged that Evra owes €969,000 (£813,640) in unpaid maintenance after abandoning his wife Sandra Evra and their two children between May 1, 2021 and September 28, 2023.

According to the French publication Le Parisien, Evra’s verdict was confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris.

While the twelve-month sentence was suspended for two years with provisional execution, the former United and France left-back was ordered to pay his wife a total of 6,000 euros for non-pecuniary damages and legal fees.

Evra – a five-time Premier League winner with Old Trafford – has appealed the decision.

“Mr Patrice Evra appealed despite knowing that he had provided his wife with an apartment and a house with a swimming pool in the south of France and had lent her almost two million euros for her living expenses,” said Evra’s lawyer Jerome Boursican.

“She refuses to repay this amount and that is the reason for this lawsuit.”

Nathalie Dubois, Sandra Evra’s lawyer, said she hoped the punishment would prove to the former French international that he was “not above the law”.

“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,” she said.

“Even more so as they met at the age of 15 and she followed him around the world to support his football career.”

Patrice and Sandra Evra ended their 25-year relationship in 2020, and now the 2008 Champions League winner is engaged to Danish model Margaux Alexandra.

The couple had their first child together in Copenhagen in May 2021 and Evra spoke of his pride at the time, calling Alexandra his “rock” and his “universe.”

“I can’t describe how proud I am of Margaux,” said the former full-back.

“You were strong, not because you weren’t afraid, but because you kept going despite your fear. You are my rock, my universe.”

Evra has worked in various pundit roles since retiring from playing at West Ham in 2018, providing analysis for Sky Sports, ITV and beIN SPORTS, among others.

The Senegalese-born defender began his professional career at Italian club Marsala and played for Monza, Nice and Monaco before joining Manchester United for £5.5 million in 2006 to play under Sir Alex Ferguson.

At international level, Evra, widely regarded as one of the best left-backs of his generation, made 81 appearances for France.

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