Ex-Man United star Patrice Evra given suspended jail sentence after he is found guilty of abandoning wife and kids
EX-MAN 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 found guilty on Tuesday by the Hauts-de-Seine criminal court of abandoning his wife, Sandra, and two children between May 1, 2021 and September 28, 2023.
"He immediately appealed," the prosecution said.
Nathalie Dubois, the lawyer for the civil party, told Le Parisien: "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."
Read more on Man Utd
She claims that the former player owes her client 969,000 euros in alimony arrears from July 2020.
Evra's lawyer, Jérôme Boursican, claims that his client has "disputed the facts."
He added: "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.
"A sum that she refuses to return, which is the reason for this trial."
The Sun has approached Jérôme Boursican for comment.
Sandra, 42, and Patrice Evra tied the knot in 2007 and had two children.
While still married, the former defender for Manchester United, Juventus, and OM was shown kissing Danish model Margaux Alexandra in July 2020.
That year, divorce procedures were started, but they haven't been finished yet.
Patrice Evra and Margaux Alexandra have since welcomed two children into their family.
On February 9, 2023, the Paris police court fined Patrice Evra 1,000 euros for blasting homophobic slurs.
The former player was accused of sharing them in a social media video in March 2019 following Manchester United's Champions League victory over PSG.
He said at the time: "Paris, you are f*****s... Here, it is the men who speak."
Evra was also forced to pay 1,500 euros in damages to the two civil party associations, Mousse and Stop Homophobie, along with 1,000 euros to each in lawyers' fees.
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.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
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.