Patrice Evra has been handed a suspended 12-month prison sentence for alleged family abandonment, as reported by Le Parisien.

He has been found guilty of leaving his family for two years and is said to owe over £800,000 ($1m) in alimony payments to his ex-wife Sandra Evra and their two children.

The prison sentence has been suspended for two years, but Evra is also required to pay €4,000 (£3,300/$4,300) for moral damages and €2,000 (£1,600/$2,100) for legal costs.

He has appealed the decision. Despite their split in 2020 and ongoing divorce proceedings, Evra and his ex-wife continue to battle it out in court.

Jerome Boursican said: “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.”

As Evra navigates this legal battle, he has a new family in his life – he is now engaged to Margaux Alexandra and they have two children together.

It is uncertain when his appeal will be heard, but for now, the former footballer remains entangled in legal proceedings with his ex-wife.