Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault by a court in Barcelona.
He was found guilty by the top court, for sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
The Brazilian has also been ordered to pay a huge sum of €150,000 to the victim due to the damage caused.
Alves was arrested and detained in January 2023, after being alleged of “sexual assault with penetration”.
The ex-Juventus defender has had requests for bail denied on many occasions due to the court considering him a flight risk.
The Brazilian Federal Constitution guarantees that no citizen of Brazil can be extradited by the country, and as such if he had left the European country, it might not have been easy to get him back.
Meanwhile, Dani Alves has also been slammed with a nine-and-a-half-year restraining order, with the footballer upon release also having to complete five years of probation.
Prosecutors had initially called for the Barcelona legend to be handed a nine-year prison sentence, alongside 10 years of probation.
However, lawyers representing the accuser wanted a lengthier prison sentence of 12 years.
Anyway, Alves has in the past denied knowing the victim in a TV interview, before later admitting having sex with her, but insisted it was consensual.
Speaking in an interview with Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, he claimed that originally lied because he didn't want to lose his marriage.
The 40-year-old expressed that he was afraid that his wife Joana Sanz would leave him - a move which has apparently come to the fore, after the Brazilian model filed for a divorce in 2023, although the incarcerated superstar hasn't agreed to it.
Additionally, at the end of the three-day trial completed on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Dani Alves denied raping the 23-year-old woman when testifying in court.
The former Paris Saint Germain man added that the Spanish woman at no point requested to leave.
He said: “If she wanted to leave, she could have left, she was not obligated to be there.”
Dani Alves also denied hitting the woman and also grabbing her hair, vehemently saying: “I am not a violent man”.
The trial began on Monday, February 5, 2024, and the victim testified for more than an hour, but she did so behind a screen in order not to reveal her identity.
Moreover, Spain passed a new law in October 2022, which was tagged the “only yes means yes” law - which overhauled the criminal code by making sexual consent important in deciding assault cases.
This was done in a bid to put all non-consensual sexual activities under the umbrella of rape.
Alves had a successful football career, playing for several notable teams, including; Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain, and Sevilla.
Dani Alves made 869 club appearances in his career, scoring 61 goals and providing 178 assists in all competitions.
The 40-year-old won many trophies during his 2-decade-long career, including; 9 league titles, 3 UEFA Champions League, and 2 Copa America with Brazil.
He was found guilty by the top court, for sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
The Brazilian has also been ordered to pay a huge sum of €150,000 to the victim due to the damage caused.
Alves was arrested and detained in January 2023, after being alleged of “sexual assault with penetration”.
The ex-Juventus defender has had requests for bail denied on many occasions due to the court considering him a flight risk.
The Brazilian Federal Constitution guarantees that no citizen of Brazil can be extradited by the country, and as such if he had left the European country, it might not have been easy to get him back.
Meanwhile, Dani Alves has also been slammed with a nine-and-a-half-year restraining order, with the footballer upon release also having to complete five years of probation.
Prosecutors had initially called for the Barcelona legend to be handed a nine-year prison sentence, alongside 10 years of probation.
However, lawyers representing the accuser wanted a lengthier prison sentence of 12 years.
Anyway, Alves has in the past denied knowing the victim in a TV interview, before later admitting having sex with her, but insisted it was consensual.
Speaking in an interview with Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, he claimed that originally lied because he didn't want to lose his marriage.
The 40-year-old expressed that he was afraid that his wife Joana Sanz would leave him - a move which has apparently come to the fore, after the Brazilian model filed for a divorce in 2023, although the incarcerated superstar hasn't agreed to it.
Additionally, at the end of the three-day trial completed on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Dani Alves denied raping the 23-year-old woman when testifying in court.
The former Paris Saint Germain man added that the Spanish woman at no point requested to leave.
He said: “If she wanted to leave, she could have left, she was not obligated to be there.”
Dani Alves also denied hitting the woman and also grabbing her hair, vehemently saying: “I am not a violent man”.
The trial began on Monday, February 5, 2024, and the victim testified for more than an hour, but she did so behind a screen in order not to reveal her identity.
Moreover, Spain passed a new law in October 2022, which was tagged the “only yes means yes” law - which overhauled the criminal code by making sexual consent important in deciding assault cases.
This was done in a bid to put all non-consensual sexual activities under the umbrella of rape.
Alves had a successful football career, playing for several notable teams, including; Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain, and Sevilla.
Dani Alves made 869 club appearances in his career, scoring 61 goals and providing 178 assists in all competitions.
The 40-year-old won many trophies during his 2-decade-long career, including; 9 league titles, 3 UEFA Champions League, and 2 Copa America with Brazil.
Last edited: