- Patrice Evra is alleged to have abandoned his family between 2021 and 2023
- He responded to reports by dancing around on a basketball court in handcuffs
- LISTEN: Join us as we debate the BIGGEST talking points on It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY. Available wherever you get your podcasts
Patrice Evra has hit back at sensational reports claiming he has been handed a suspended prison sentence for abandoning his family by posting a bizarre video on social media showing him wearing handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit.
Judges in Paris ruled that former Manchester United defender Evra failed to pay almost £1million in alimony to his wife, Sandra Evra, and effectively abandoned her and their two young children between May 1, 2021 and September 28, 2023.
Lawyers for Evra, who retired from football in 2019, confirmed that an appeal had immediately been launched after the verdict was handed down on Tuesday.
Evra, 43, was hit with a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay his wife €4,000 (£3,358) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,679) for legal costs.
Taking to social media after the news emerged, Evra appeared to make light of the situation as he danced around a caged basketball court with handcuffs on.
In the video, which was captioned ‘Let me shutdown this rubbish news. Look how much I enjoyed myself in prison’, the former France captain also wore an afro wig, an orange jail jumpsuit, a large dollar-sign necklace and golden teeth grills.
He also used the hashtags #Ilovethisgame and #freedom and crying laughing emojis.
Shortly after the sentencing, Evra’s lawyer, Jerome Bouriscan, insisted that ‘the facts are disputed’ by his client, who is adamant there are no outstanding payments.
‘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 said.
‘A sum that she refuses to return, which is the reason for this trial.’
Evra’s representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Sandra and Evra married in 2007 and share two children, a son, Lenny, and a daughter, Maona. Divorce proceedings were initiated by the former United player in 2020, however, although they remain uncompleted over four years on.
In July 2020, photos of Evra kissing Danish model Margaux Alexandra, his current partner, were published while he remained married to his wife. Evra and Alexandra are engaged and have since had two children – a young son, Lilas, and a daughter.
Acting on behalf of Sandra, lawyer Nathalie Dubois 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.’
Evra, who played 379 times for United between 2006 and 2014, was first seen with Alexandra five months after his separation from his wife. He is understood to have ended the 13-year marriage after moving out of the family home in Paris.
Sandra, Evra’s childhood sweetheart after they grew up together in the Parisian suburb of Les Ulis, was said to be heartbroken after he left to work as a pundit for Sky Sports. She reportedly learned of his new relationship through social media.
She 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 realise what he’s like… he has turned into a rat.’
Sandra also told the publication that she had not seen Evra since January 2020, when he travelled to their second home in Battersea, London, for a ’15-day work trip’. He then officially filed for a shock divorce that left her stunned on March 4.
Evra is alleged to have used his solicitor to inform Sandra he wanted the divorce.
Earlier this year, he was spotted kissing a mystery woman on a night out. In photos published by The Mirror, Evra was snapped getting cosy at 4am in full view of fellow revellers outside the MNKY HSE restaurant and bar in the centre of Manchester.