43-year-old ex-Manchester United defender and former French national team captain, Patrice Evra, has been given a suspended 12-month prison sentence for abandoning his wife and children. This verdict was confirmed by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office, as reported by Le Parisien.
The court found Evra guilty of neglecting his wife, Sandra Evra, and their two children from May 1, 2021, to September 28, 2023.
During this period, he allegedly failed to pay €969,000 (£813,640) in alimony. The sentence, which is suspended for two years, includes an order for Evra to pay €4,000 (£3,358) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,679) for legal costs.
Evra’s lawyer, Jerome Boursican, announced that Evra has appealed the decision.
He stated, “Mr Patrice Evra filed an appeal, 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.” He added, “A sum that she refuses to return, which is the reason for this trial.”
Sandra Evra’s lawyer, Nathalie Dubois, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling. “I hope that, thanks to this decision, Patrice Evra will finally understand that he is not above the law and that you cannot abandon your wife and children overnight. Even more so when they met when they were 15 and she followed him all over the world to support his football career,” Dubois stated.
The couple, who wed in 2007 and have two children together, initiated divorce proceedings in 2020. These proceedings are still unresolved. In July 2020, Evra was publicly seen with Danish model Margaux Alexandra, his current fiancée, with whom he now has two more children.
Speaking to The Sun, Sandra Evra recounted her feelings upon discovering Evra’s new relationship: “I was devastated, distraught. I have been left paying all my credit cards and the Netflix bill. It has taken me a long time to realise what he’s like… he has turned into a rat.”
Patrice Evra, who played 379 matches for Manchester United between 2006 and 2014, has not yet commented on the court’s decision.
