Evra dismisses prison sentence reports as ‘rubbish news’

Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra has responded defiantly to recent reports of his suspended prison sentence, calling them “rubbish news” in a social media post.

The 43-year-old ex-France captain was reportedly handed a 12-month suspended sentence by a French court for allegedly abandoning his wife and two children.

However, Evra, in a post via his Instagram account seems to mock these claims, stating, “Let me shutdown this rubbish news: look how much I enjoyed myself in prison.”

He released a video following the cryptic message. In the video, Evra can be seen handcuffed and sporting what looks to be a jail costume in the video. Then, in an area that appears to be designed like a jail, he is playing basketball and dancing to background music.

He further added, “France lose at euros then late put something about mister,” hinting at a possible connection between the timing of these reports and France’s performance in the Euro 2024.

This comes after the Nanterre prosecutor’s office reportedly confirmed that Evra had been found guilty of family abandonment from May 2021 to September 2023. The court ordered him to pay substantial damages and allegedly owes €969,000 (£813,640) in unpaid alimony.

Evra’s lawyer, Jerome Boursican, had previously stated that his client filed an appeal against the decision. “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.

The case stems from Evra’s separation from his wife Sandra, whom he married in 2007.

Sandra Evra’s lawyer, Nathalie Dubois, had commented on the initial verdict, saying, “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.”

Evra, who played 379 times for Manchester United between 2006 and 2014, has been in a relationship with Danish model Margaux Alexandra since 2020, with whom he now has two children.