Patrice Evra who was once hailed as one of Europe’s top left-backs has been found guilty of abandoning his wife and children.
The former captain of Manchester United and the French national team faced the Nanterre criminal court which ruled against him for neglecting his family from May 2021 to September 2023.
According to his wife’s lawyer Evra owes nearly €969,000 (£833,000) in unpaid alimony.
Details of the Patrice Evra Case and Sentencing
Evra who is now 43 years old has received a 12-month suspended prison sentence meaning he will not serve time behind bars. Moreover, he must pay €4,000 for moral damages and €2,000 in court costs totaling about £5,100. His legal team has already appealed the sentence.
His wife Sandra Evra claims she was shocked by her husband’s sudden departure. After a family holiday in 2020 Evra reportedly left for a two-week work trip to London and never returned.
Sandra learned of his intention to divorce through her lawyer after seeing media photos of him with another woman. Evra is now said to be living in Dubai with model Margaux Alexandra with whom he has two more children.
Sandra’s lawyer Nathalie Dubois hopes the ruling will remind Evra that “he is not above the law and cannot abandon his wife and children overnight.”
Evra’s lawyer Jérôme Boursican disputes the claims and has stated that Evra had provided his wife with substantial financial support including an apartment (a house with a pool) and nearly two million euros for her daily needs.
Boursican asserts that the trial resulted from her refusal to return the money.