“Former Barcelona and Brazil full-back Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault, with an additional five years of supervised freedom upon release. He’s also ordered to pay €150,000 to the victim plus legal fees.”
Former Barcelona and Brazil full-back Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault in a Spanish court on Thursday.
The court stated, ‘The ruling considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there are elements of evidence, in addition to the testimony of the complainant, to understand rape occurred.’
Alves, who was arrested in January last year following an alleged sexual assault complaint filed by a 23-year-old woman in Barcelona, had consistently denied the charges, including claims of sexual penetration. However, he later admitted to lying in previous testimonies, stating it was an attempt to ‘save his marriage.’
In addition to the prison sentence, Alves was also given a further five years of supervised freedom upon release and ordered to pay €150,000 to the victim, along with legal fees. Furthermore, he is prohibited from communicating with the victim for nine years and six months, and he must stay at least one kilometer away from her.
The Spanish public prosecutors, seeking a nine-year imprisonment statement against Alves, strengthened their case with testimony from five individuals, including the alleged victim.
Alves, who played over 400 matches for Barcelona across two spells, has been in custody since January 2023 and was held in a prison near Barcelona before his trial commenced in February 2023