Ex-Man United Star Patrice Evra Sentenced To 12-Months In Prison For Family Abandonment.

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has been handed a suspended 12-month prison sentence after he was found guilty for alleged family abandonment for over two years.

Le Parisien reports Evra is said to have abandoned Sandra Evra and their two kids between May 1, 2021 and September 28, 2023, and his sentence was confirmed by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.

The 43-year-old allegedly owes £800,00 (€969,000/$1m) in unpaid alimony to Sandra Evra and their two children.

The pair who married in 2007, split in 2020 and divorce proceedings began but haven't been finalised.

The 12-month sentence has, however, been suspended for two years, but the former France international has been ordered to pay his wife €4,000 (£3,300/$4,300) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,600/$2,100) for legal costs.

Evra, who played 379 times for Manchester United between 2006 and 2014, has not yet responded to requests for comment on the court’s decision.

Though, he has launched an appeal against the decision, with his lawyer, Jerome Boursican, claiming “the facts are disputed” by his client.

"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,” Said Jerome.

He added, “A sum that she refuses to return, which is the reason for this trial.”

Sandra Evra’s lawyer, Nathalie Dubois, commented on the verdict stating, “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.”

The sentence has been suspended for two years but the former left-back must also pay €4,000 (£3,300/$4,300) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,600/$2,100) for legal costs. Evra has appealed the verdict. 

Evra and his soon-to-be-ex wife will continue to fight this out through the courts. It remains to be seen when his appeal will be heard. In the meantime, Evra has another family; he is engaged to Danish model Margaux Alexandra whom he was see n kissing in July 2020, and they currently have two children.