Jonny Evans Biography
Jonathan Grant Evans MBE, a defender for Manchester United of the Premier League and the Northern Ireland national team, was born on January 3, 1988, in Northern Ireland.
Evans began his professional career at Manchester United and rose through the ranks of the team’s academy. He obtained first-team experience while on loan at Royal Antwerp and Sunderland before making his Manchester United debut in the 2007–2008 League Cup. He played nearly 200 games for Manchester United over an eight-year span, winning three Premier League championships and a host of other awards. However, he lost favor with the organization under manager Louis van Gaal, and he left for West Bromwich Albion in 2015. Three years after West Brom’s relegation, Evans joined Leicester City, where he won the FA Cup in 2021.
The player with the second-most awards in Northern Irish football history is Evans. He has participated in more than 100 games for the Northern Ireland national team and was a constant during the group stage run at the 2016 UEFA Euro.
Jonny Evans’s Nationality
Northern Irish and British citizen Jonny Evans was born in Belfast, United Kingdom.
Club career
Manchester United
When Evans was playing for Greenisland F.C., the same team that his younger brother Corry and Craig Cathcart represented prior to joining Manchester United, he was noticed by scouts. He received an invitation to the Manchester United Center of Excellence in Belfast when he was nine years old, and a year later he received an invitation for a trial in Manchester. Evans’ possibilities were constrained at the time due to rule changes made by The Football Association, which prevented clubs to using players who lived within a 90-minute commute of the club.
Evans was able to train with Manchester United full-time after his family quickly moved there. During the club’s 2006 summer tour of South Africa, he participated in two of the club’s three games, as well as domestic friendlies against Preston North End and Celtic. He also advanced through Manchester United’s academy. Additionally, Evans made an unexpected debut in the Amsterdam Tournament matchup with Ajax.
Loan to Royal Antwerp
The first part of the 2006–07 season saw Evans, along with fellow young players Darron Gibson, Danny Simpson, and Fraizer Campbell, on loan at Manchester United’s Belgian feeder club Royal Antwerp.
Loans to Sunderland
Along with Danny Simpson, he consented in December 2006 to join Sunderland on loan in the January transfer window until the end of the 2006–07 campaign. Together, they helped Sunderland win the Championship, and Evans was named the team’s Youth Player of the Year at the conclusion of the campaign. Following Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League, manager Roy Keane hoped to re-sign the talented center defender on another loan; however, United decided to keep him at the club so he could compete for a spot in the starting lineup.
On January 4, 2008, Evans returned to Sunderland for a second loan stint. He was immediately included in the starting lineup for a 3-0 FA Cup loss to Wigan Athletic. He played the entire game’s ninety minutes, but was criticized for Wigan’s second goal after losing the ball on the edge of his own box and allowing Paul McShane to score an own goal that was deflected. Evans made 15 league appearances and assisted Sunderland in staying in the Premier League.
2007–2011
On September 26, 2007, Evans made his Manchester United debut against Coventry City in the League Cup, which resulted in a 2-0 loss. Then, on November 7, 2007, he came on as a late replacement for Gerard Piqué in a Manchester United home game against Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Champions League to ensure Manchester United’s advancement to the competition’s knockout round. He then started his debut Champions League game against Roma on December 12, 2007.
On September 21, 2008, Evans made his league debut for United in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, replacing in for the injured Nemanja Vidi. Evans made two substitute appearances at the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2008, including one in the championship game after Vidi was dismissed just before halftime. Evans kept filling in for the remainder of the season, making appearances in a handful of league games and the League Cup final.
Evans joined the United team as a regular player at the start of the 2010–11 football season, filling in for the injured Rio Ferdinand in the center of defense alongside Vidi. Stuart Holden, a midfielder for Bolton Wanderers, was hurt by Evans’ tackle on 19 March 2011; the incident initially sidelined Holden for six months but ultimately resulted in a 22-month absence for the USA international. Evans was given a straight red card for the tackle, but Manchester United still prevailed 1-0 thanks to a goal from Dimitar Berbatov.
2011–2015
After Wes Brown was moved to Sunderland prior to the 2011–12 season, Evans received the number 6 jersey. He debuted in his new uniform on August 14 during United’s 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion, replacing the injured Vidi in the 52nd minute at The Hawthorns. He was dismissed on October 23 during United’s 6-1 loss to Manchester City after knocking Mario Balotelli down with a last-man challenge.
On November 30, Evans made his 100th Red Devils appearance, playing the entire 120 minutes as United fell to Championship team Crystal Palace 2-1 in the League Cup quarterfinal. He netted his first goal for United on March 18, 2012, opening the scoring in a 5-0 league victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Evans’ foot injury kept him out of the final three games of the year.
Evans was unable to begin his preseason workouts until early August because he had surgery to treat an ankle ailment at the close of the previous season. Evans headed in a corner from Robin van Persie on October 7, 2012, as the team defeated Newcastle United 3-0. This was Evans’ second goal for the team. In a 3-2 victory over Braga on October 23, he netted his first UEFA Champions League goal and first at Old Trafford after diving home from a corner kick to tie the score at 2-2.
On November 24, 2012, at Old Trafford, Evans scored his third goal of the year, heading in the equalizer from a corner to start a 3-1 comeback victory over Queens Park Rangers. Evans renewed his contract with United on December 21 of that year, keeping him there through June 2016. On Boxing Day, in a 4-3 victory over Newcastle, he scored his third league goal of the year and fourth overall by tapping in after Tim Krul had stopped Javier Hernández’s attempt. Moments later, he put a cross from Danny Simpson, a former teammate from United, Antwerp, and Sunderland, into his own net.
On March 4, 2015, during an altercation, Evans spat in the direction of Newcastle forward Papiss Cissé. Although both players were charged by the FA after a review, neither player received a punishment from the referee during the game. “I would like to make it clear that I did not spit at Papiss Cissé,” Evans said in response to the accusation. I was astonished to see the media coverage of the game from yesterday night when I woke up this morning. On March 7, he received a six-game suspension, with Cissé receiving a seven-game punishment owing to a prior suspension.
West Bromwich Albion
On August 29, 2015, Evans agreed to a deal with West Bromwich Albion of the Premier League for an undisclosed sum. On September 12, 2015, he made his club debut in a scoreless draw with Southampton. In a 2-1 win over Stoke City on January 2, 2016, Evans scored his first goal for West Brom. He was given the Players’ Player of the Season award for his first season at the club on May 15, 2016, before to the season’s last match.
His subsequent goal didn’t come for a while; it was scored on December 3, 2016, in a 3-1 victory over Watford. His subsequent goal came in the season’s final game, a 2-1 loss to Swansea.
After club captain Darren Fletcher left for Stoke City in July 2017, Evans was named the team’s permanent captain by head coach Tony Pulis. On September 30, 2017, in a 2-2 draw with Watford, he scored his first goal of the year with a header, just as he had done ten months earlier against the same foe. On January 13, 2018, he scored his team’s second goal of the year against Brighton at home, giving them their first league victory in 20 games and five months.
Leicester City
The £3.5 million relegation release clause in Evans’ West Brom contract was triggered by Leicester City in June 2018. On August 18, 2018, he made his Leicester debut in a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers after agreeing to a three-year contract with the Foxes. On February 23, 2019, he scored his first goal for the team in a 4-1 loss against Crystal Palace.
On July 12, 2020, Evans made his 400th appearance in English football and scored an own goal in a 4-1 Premier League loss against AFC Bournemouth.
Evans was named captain before of the 2022–23 season after Kasper Schmeiche, the previous captain, left the team.
Return to Manchester United
Following his release from Leicester at the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, Evans began working out with Manchester United. On July 18, 2023, it was revealed that Evans had signed a short-term contract with the team, enabling him to go to Edinburgh for a preseason friendly against Lyon.
International career
Evans was initially called up to the complete Northern Ireland squad in September 2006, and he made his debut in the memorable 3-2 victory over Spain before making his senior debut for Manchester United. In a 3-2 victory against Poland in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying on March 28, 2009, Evans scored his first goal for his country by volleying home from close range.
Evans was a member of Northern Ireland’s final 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 on May 28, 2016, under the direction of national team manager Michael O’Neill. This was Northern Ireland’s first major competition since the 1986 FIFA World Cup and their first participation in the competition finals. The team eventually advanced to the round of 16, where Wales eliminated them with a 1-0 victory. Evans took part in each of Northern Ireland’s four games in the competition.
Eight and a half years after his first international goal, on September 4, 2017, he scored his second with a header in a 2-0 victory against the Czech Republic during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying. For the first time in 32 years, Northern Ireland reached a playoff matchup against Switzerland in November. They lost the opening leg 1-0, with a contentious penalty awarded by Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan providing the winning score.
Michael O’Neill, the manager of the team, stated it was the worst call he had ever seen in a game he had been a part of. Corry Evans was given a handball penalty despite the fact that the ball had obviously hit the player’s shoulder. Three days later, the second leg ended in a scoreless stalemate, eliminating Northern Ireland from contention. Evans came close to scoring the game-winning goal in the last seconds of the second leg, which would have tied the overall score; however, defender Ricardo Rodriguez, who had converted the penalty in the first leg, cleared the ball off the line.
In Northern Ireland’s second match of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification campaign against Belarus, Evans opened the scoring for his third goal at the senior international level. He reached the milestone of 100 appearances for Northern Ireland on September 27, 2022, against Greece in a Nations League match.
Personal life
Belfast is where Evans was born. Before being signed by Manchester United, he attended Belfast High School in Newtownabbey before transferring to Ashton-on-Mersey School in Sale, Greater Manchester. He has nine GCSEs with averages of A* or A.
Evans was detained on December 19th, 2007 in relation to an alleged rape that allegedly took place at the hotel where Manchester United’s Christmas party was hosted. It was reported on March 8th, 2008, that he wouldn’t face any charges.
At Clough Presbyterian Church on June 1, 2013, Evans wed MUTV reporter Helen McConnell. The pair was parents to three children as of December 2019.
Evans received the MBE designation for his contributions to association football in Northern Ireland during the 2023 Birthday Honours.
Jonny Evans’s Height & Weight
Jonny Evans is 1.88 m tall and 79 kg in weight.
Jonny Evans’s Marital Status
MUTV reporter Helen McConnell is wed to Jonny Evans. Helen McConnell and her future husband first met when she was hired by United’s internal television network, MUTV. An MUTV interview with Jonny Evans in 2011 sparked the couple’s growing romance, and on June 1, 2013, they were married.
She began her modeling career in her native country and became well-known in the fashion sector. Before relocating to Manchester, she registered with the Belfast modeling agency Style Academy and competed for the cover girl spot in Sunday Life in 2004.
Her love for United and her ascent in the broadcasting world finally led to her position with the Red Devils, where she quickly discovered herself interacting with elite players and personnel.
Jonny Evans’s Family & Siblings
Jackie Evans, a former defender for Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1980s, is the father of Jonny Evans. But before becoming a player-manager, he gave up his playing career to work in a Belfast factory. He apparently started his own talent management after around five years of coaching Manchester United Academy.
After observing his sons’ passion and love for football, which helped shape their careers into what they are today, he registered his sons Jonny, Corry, and Craig with Greenisland FC. Corry Evans, a fellow soccer player, and Katie Evans, his sister, are his two siblings.
His mother’s name is Dawn Evans, but little is known about her personal or professional background.
Jonny Evans’s Net Worth
While other websites claim that Jonny Evans’ net worth is assessed at £54.5 million (or €52.3 million), the estimate for his wealth is 53 million Euros.
Jonny Evans’s Children
Jonny Evans has three children. Eli was born in December 2019, his third kid, Heidi was born in 2017, and his first child, a daughter named Lottie Evans, was born on May 15, 2014.
Jonny Evans’s Social Media
Jonny Evans uses the Twitter handle @6jevans and doesn’t appear to use any other social media sites.
Honours
Sunderland
- Football League Championship: 2006–07
Manchester United
- UEFA Champions League: 2007–08
- Premier League: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
- Football League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10
- FA Community Shield: 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
Leicester City
- FA Cup: 2020–21
Why is Jonny Evans famous?
Football player Jonny Evans is well-known for having won three Premier League championships during an eight-year span, among many other accolades.
How old is Jonny Evans?
Jonny Evans, 35, was born on January 3, 1988.
Where is Jonny Evans from?
Jonny Evans is from Belfast, the nation of Northern Ireland. The RMS Titanic was born there and famously sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.
Has Jonny Evans signed for Man Utd?
Evans, 35, has returned to United on a temporary basis after his contract with Leicester expired. The international player from Northern Ireland began going to United’s Carrington training facility earlier this summer, and he has done well enough to secure a contract at Old Trafford.
How many times has Jonny Evans won the Premier League?
In his 18 years with the club, Evans, whose relationship with Manchester United began when he was just nine years old, won a variety of accolades, including three Premier League championships, two League Cups, and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.
