Manchester United & France legend handed prison sentence after being found guilty of neglecting family

Manchester United & France legend handed prison sentence after being found guilty of neglecting family

Mark Kinyanjui 00:01 - 13.07.2024

Manchester United legend Patrice Evra receives suspended sentence for abandoning family

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

The 43-year-old is alleged to owe €969,000 (£813,640) in unpaid alimony after leaving Sandra Evra and their two children between May 1, 2021, and September 28, 2023. The Nanterre prosecutor's office confirmed his sentence, as reported by Le Parisien.

The 12-month punishment has been suspended for two years with provisional execution. Additionally, the former French national team captain has been ordered to pay his wife €4,000 (£3,358) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,679) for legal costs. Evra has appealed the decision, with his lawyer, Jerome Boursican, insisting that '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," Boursican stated.

Sandra and Evra, who married in 2007, share two children, Lenny and Maona. Despite initiating divorce proceedings in 2020, the process remains incomplete.

In July 2020, photos emerged of Evra kissing Danish model Margaux Alexandra, his current partner. Evra and Alexandra, now engaged, have two children together.

Sandra's lawyer, Nathalie Dubois, expressed hope that the decision would make Evra understand his responsibilities. "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," Dubois said.

"Even more so when they met when they were 15 and she followed him all over the world to support his football career."

Evra, who played 379 times for Manchester United between 2006 and 2014, was first seen with Alexandra five months after separating from his wife. He ended the 13-year marriage after moving out of the family home in Paris. Sandra, his childhood sweetheart, was heartbroken by his departure and reportedly learned of his new relationship through social media.

Reflecting on the situation, Sandra told The Sun, "That was the worst day of my life. 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 realize what he's like... he has turned into a rat."

Sandra also mentioned that she had not seen Evra since January 2020, when he traveled to their second home in Battersea, London, for a '15-day work trip.' He then officially filed for divorce on March 4. Earlier this year, Evra was spotted kissing a mystery woman on a night out in Manchester.

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