A Spanish court on Thursday sentenced former Brazil international Dani Alves to four and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
“The victim did not consent and there is evidence that, beyond the complainant’s testimony, permits the rape to be considered proven,” the Barcelona court wrote in a statement.
Alves was sentenced to jail despite earlier denying that he had sexually assaulted the woman at a nightclub in Barcelona in the early hours of 31 December, 2022.
The victim accused the former Barcelona defender of raping her in a bathroom after which the court ordered Alves to pay her the sum of 150,000 euros (£128,479.50).
The 40-year-old former Brazilian international later admitted that he indeed had sex with the 23-year-old lady but insisted that it was consensual.
State prosecutors had sought a nine-year jail term for Alves if he was found guilty of the offence while a private prosecutor on behalf of the victim wanted a 12-year prison sentence for the retired footballer.
“Daniel Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault,” Judicial officials announced.
The court also ordered him to stay away from his victim for nine and a half years and determined he should pay his victim 150,000 euros and pay costs.
Widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of all time, Alves is the most decorated player in the history of professional football, with 43 senior titles.
Alves who began his football career at Bahia in 2001, had a six-year spell with Sevilla, with whom he won two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey.
After completing a transfer to Barcelona for €32.5 million in 2008, he became the third-most expensive defender at the time.
The former defender won the treble in his first season with Barca and in the next campaign, he won the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Overall, he helped the Blaugrana to win two more Supercopa de España, five La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League titles in the years that followed before leaving for Juventus in 2016.
After joining Juventus on a free transfer, the Brazilian won the 2016–17 Serie A title and 2016–17 Coppa Italia in his only season with the Old Lady who also qualified for the Champions League final.
In 2017, Alves joined French Ligue 1 club, Paris Saint-Germain also on a free transfer and did very well to help them win a domestic treble in his maiden campaign followed by another league title the following season.
