Manchester United defender Jonny Evans picked up his MBE award from Prince William at Buckingham Palace on Monday.
According to The Belfast Telegraph, Evans was awarded the MBE for his services to association football in his native Northern Ireland.
Evans made his international debut for the national team in 2006 during a memorable 3-2 win against Spain in September.
Since then, the centre-back has gone on to chalk up an impressive 106 caps.
In that time, he has registered six goals – such has been his importance over the years for North Ireland.
Evans has also had a pretty decent club career. He is currently experiencing his second stint at United, eight years after he departed Old Trafford following a transfer to West Brom.
During his first tenure at the club, Evans won three Premier League titles. He was also part of Leicester City’s FA Cup-winning side in 2021.
So far this season, the 35-year-old has managed eight appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils. At the moment, he is recovering from a thigh injury expected to keep him out of competitive action for a while.
Before picking up the unfortunate setback, Evans was pretty much a guaranteed starter and seemed to even be ahead of Raphael Varane in the pecking order.
He formed a solid partnership at the back with Harry Maguire. Evans now joins Marcus Rashford to become the second United star to receive an MBE.
Evans said, “When I got the letter through the door and it had the Royal seal on the back I was a bit shocked, but it was also amazing.”
“It made me feel very proud, especially when I saw that it was in recognition of my contribution to association football in Northern Ireland.”
“It brought it home that playing more than 100 times for my country, and playing for so long for Northern Ireland, has been so good. I represented everyone in the country and had many good times along the way.”