Dani Alves, the former Barcelona and Brazil footballer, has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and sentenced to four years and six months in prison.
The verdict was delivered by a three-judge panel at the Barcelona Provincial Court on Thursday, February 22nd, 2024.
According to the court, Alves met the woman at the nightclub on December 31, 2022, and took her to a bathroom, where he slapped her, insulted her, and forced her to have sex against her will.
The woman reported the incident to the police and Alves was arrested on January 20th, 2023. He has been in custody ever since, as the court considered him a flight risk.
The athlete denied the charges and claimed that the sex was consensual. He also changed his version of the events several times, first saying that he had no sexual contact with the woman, then admitting that he did, but only to save his marriage. He also tried to blame his alcohol consumption for his actions.
The court rejected Dani Alves’ defense and found him guilty of sexual assault, a crime that carries a minimum sentence of four years in Spain. In addition, the court mandated that he must pay €150,000 ($162,000) to the victim as compensation and must not make any contact with her for a duration of 9 years.
Dani Alves, aged 40, is regarded as one of the most successful and popular footballers of his generation. Among other other accomplishments, he has won about five La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies, two Copa América titles and an Olympic gold medal throughout his career.
Also, apart from Brazil and Barcelona, he has also played for other clubs such as Sevilla, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, and São Paulo.
