Footballer Ched Evans has agreed to accept a six figure sum over the handling of a rape case which saw him jailed.

The Welsh striker, 30, went through a five-year battle to clear his name after serving two and a half years in prison over the alleged rape in a Premier Inn hotel room.

He is understood to have received almost £800,000 in the out-of-court settlement from lawyers who represented him – something he views as ‘closure’ according to Sportsmail.

Ched Evans has agreed an out-of-court settlement with lawyers over their handling of a rape case which saw him jailed (Picture: PA)

Mr Evans, who played for Manchester City and Sheffield United, was cleared following an appeal.


Earlier this month the footballer, now on loan with Fleetwood Town, agreed the settlement with Brabners, the legal firm which he used in the first trial.



At the time, he was playing for Sheffield United and was earning a reported £18,000 a week.

The case was due to go before the High Court later this month.

A Brabners spokesman said: ‘We are glad that Ched Evans has agreed not to pursue this case, which we believe was entirely without merit.

‘Brabners put forward a strong defence of Mr Evans’ claim following a thorough process and we were prepared to vigorously defend our handling of the case.’

Evans was originally convicted following a trial of raping a 19-year-old in North Wales, in May 2011.

But the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and ordered a retrial in 2016.

Private investigators gathered new evidence, with a £50,000 reward offered for information to help his case.

In a rare move, the jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard from two men who had sex with the complainant around the time of the rape allegation.

The jury of seven women and five men took less than three hours to find Mr Evans not guilty of the charge following the eight-day trial.

After the verdict, Mr Evans said he was ‘overwhelmed with relief’.

A statement on Mr Evans’s website read: ‘In late 2016 Ched began litigation against his original defence team of Matthew Bennett and Stuart Ripley of Brabners LLP for negligent defence.

‘On Thursday 4 April 2019 Ched accepted an out of court settlement.’

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