- Evans and his partner first met in 2011 while both were at the Manchester club
- The 37-year-old returned for a second stint at his boyhood club in 2023
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Jonny Evans‘ wife Helen shared a touching farewell post for her husband after it was revealed that he will leave Manchester United for good at the end of the season.
The defender has enjoyed two stints at Old Trafford, the first which saw him make 198 appearances for his boyhood club between 2006 and 2015.
Evans was brought back in 2023 to train with the side in pre-season, before being drafted in by then-manager Erik ten Hag to build up his faltering back line.
The centre back distinguished himself during his return to Manchester, turning out a number of man-of-the-match performances on the heels of being handed a surprise new contract.
The 37-year-old will call time on his career for the Red Devils with 241 appearances to his name, and looked visibly moved as he soaked up the applause from the Old Trafford faithful for the final time on Sunday afternoon.
The post on social media by Evans’ partner – who he met during his first tenure at the club – underscored the emotion in his departure.
Jonny Evans’ wife Helen said farewell to the Old Trafford fans with her husband on Sunday
The post paid tribute to the couple’s three children – and Evans’ mammoth tenure for the club
Evans has enjoyed two stints in Manchester after first turning out for his boyhood club in 2006
’12 years later, 8 year break in the middle and 3 kids added to the squad… over and out OT!’ Helen shared on social media.
‘Best fans in the world.’
Alongside the post, Helen shared pictures both from earlier in Evans’ career, and ones from Sunday afternoon in the wake of the side’s 2-0 victory against Aston Villa featuring their family.
Evans and his wife first met at Carrington, with Helen – who had previously worked as a model and freelance presenter covering Irish league games – taking up a role as a presenter for United’s in-house television station MUTV.
An interview between the pair in 2011 helped kick-start a blossoming relationship between the couple, with the pair marrying two years later in Northern Ireland.
When Evans opted to leave the club in 2015 to join Leicester, Helen opted to stay and continue to work within Man United’s media team in a role she continues to hold.
While the player has goodbye to the home fans with the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season, Evans may yet have a handful more outings in United red, having flown to Malaysia with the rest of Ruben Amorim’s squad to start the club’s post-season tour.
Mail Sport understands that the club is being paid around £8million for the trip, which will see them play in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then in Hong Kong.
To kick off their tour, United will face ASEAN All Stars in the 84,000-capacity Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on May 28.
On May 30, they will conclude the jaunt with a clash against Hong Kong in the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
Evans and his wife first met in 2011 when Helen was working for United’s television channel
Man United flew out to Malaysia for their post-season tour just hours after playing Aston Villa
ProEvents are behind the tour, which is presented by Snapdragon – United’s kit sponsor.
United are obliged to release their players for international duty on May 31, with the Nations League and World Cup qualifiers set to be played in early June.
Bruno Fernandes’ Portugal, for example, have a Nations League semi-final showdown with Germany on June 4.
Players and managers have criticised the surge in post-season tours – Gareth Southgate and Kieran Trippier being two notable names that have spoken out against the new phenomenon.
The focal point of their complaints is that these extra games at the end of the season add an unnecessary physical burden on players after an already fixture-packed campaign.
But the counter-argument from fans is that many would seldom have the opportunity to watch their favourite team in person if the club did not hold these tours.
