The Sheffield United player, 30, spent two-and-a-half years in prison before new evidence emerged that allowed his conviction to be overturned.

The striker claimed that the law firm, Brabners, had acted negligently when defending him.

In a statement, the firm said: “We are glad that Ched Evans has agreed not to pursue this case, which we believe was entirely without merit.”

Mr Evans was given a five-year jail term after he was wrongly convicted of the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in Rhyl, North Wales.

He said the encounter was consensual.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction after a £50,000 reward was offered for anyone able to provide information leading to his acquittal.

Private investigators obtained fresh evidence and spoke to two men who had had sex with the woman around the time of her encounter with Mr Evans.

They gave accounts of her sexual preferences – which were similar to the description advanced by Mr Evans at trial.

The evidence was admitted at a second trial where Mr Evans’ defence argued successfully that it supported his assertion that intercourse was consensual.