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Evra sentenced to 12 months suspended prison sentence

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

According to Le Parisien (via Daily Mail), Evra is said to owe €969,000 (£813,640) in unpaid maintenance after abandoning Sandra Evra and their two children between May 1, 2021 and September 28, 2023. His sentence was upheld by the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office.

The 12-month sentence was suspended for two years with provisional execution, but the former French national team captain was ordered to pay his wife €4,000 (£3,358) in non-pecuniary damages and €2,000 (£1,679) in legal and court costs.

The 43-year-old has appealed against the decision, the public prosecutor’s office confirmed. His lawyer Jerome Boursican stressed that his client “disputes the facts”.

“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,” Boursican said.

“An amount she does not want to pay back, and that is the reason for this process.”

Representatives for Evra have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Sandra and Evra married in 2007 and have two children together, a son, Lenny, and a daughter, Maona. The now-retired footballer initiated divorce proceedings in 2020, but these have not been finalized even after four years.

In July 2020, photos were published of Evra kissing Danish model Margaux Alexandra, his current partner, while he was still married to his wife. Evra and Alexandra are engaged and now have two children – a young son, Lilas, and a daughter.

Lawyer Nathalie Dubois, representing Sandra, told Le Parisien: “I hope that thanks to this decision, Patrice Evra will finally understand that he is not above the law and that one cannot abandon one’s wife and children overnight.”

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

Evra, who played 379 times for United between 2006 and 2014, was first seen with Alexandra five months after splitting from his wife. He is said to have ended their 13-year marriage after moving out of the family home in Paris.

Sandra, Evra’s childhood sweetheart after they grew up together in the Paris suburb of Les Ulis, was said to be heartbroken when he left her to work as a commentator for Sky Sports. She reportedly found out about his new relationship via social media.

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