Former Barcelona Footballer Dani Alves Sentenced to 4.5 Years in Prison for Rape
The Supreme Court of Catalonia has found former FC Barcelona and Brazilian national team player Dani Alves guilty of rape and sentenced him to 4 years and 6 months in prison. The footballer must also pay €150,000 to the victim, as reported by 20minutos.
"The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not give consent, and that there are grounds, besides the testimony of the victim, to consider the rape proven," the court ruling stated.
It is worth noting that prosecutors demanded 12 years of imprisonment for Alves.
The woman, whose name has not been disclosed, accused Alves of raping her in the restroom of a nightclub in Barcelona on the night of December 30, 2022. The footballer was arrested without the right to bail about a month later, and he has been in custody since then. Shortly after the arrest, the Mexican club Pumas, for which Alves was playing at the time, terminated his contract.
The footballer changed his testimony several times. Initially, he claimed not to know the woman accusing him. Then he admitted they had met at the club but insisted that nothing happened between them. Finally, he stated that the sex was consensual.
It is noted that on the night of the incident, Alves came home extremely intoxicated.
"He came home heavily intoxicated, reeking of alcohol. He bumped into the wardrobe and fell onto the bed. I decided it wasn't worth talking to him immediately upon his arrival; I decided to leave it for the next day," said Dani Alves's wife in court.
It was also reported that Alves planned to flee to Brazil. He intended to do so after being denied temporary release three times. Considering that there is no extradition agreement between Spain and Brazil, Alves would not have been pursued in Brazil. This became one of the main arguments for the court's refusal of the request for temporary release.
The 40-year-old Dani Alves is considered one of the most decorated footballers in the world. He has won the UEFA Cup twice, the Champions League three times, is a six-time Spanish champion, Italian champion, and French champion. Overall, journalists count between 43 and 47 trophies for him. At different times, he has played for Spanish clubs Barcelona and Sevilla, Italian Juventus, French PSG, and others.