Barcelona, Spain – Former FC Barcelona and Brazil full-back Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault. The 40-year-old was arrested in January 2023 as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault at a nightclub in Barcelona.
The Spanish public prosecutor’s office alleged that Alves sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman on the night of December 30, 2022, at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona. He has repeatedly denied the charges against him.
The court found Alves guilty on Thursday morning and sentenced him to a further five years of ‘supervised’ freedom upon release. He has also paid €150,000 to the victim plus legal fees. Additionally, Alves is prohibited from communicating with the victim for nine years and six months, and from going within one kilometer of her.
Spanish public prosecutors had been seeking a nine-year prison term for Alves. A member of the victim’s prosecution, David Saez, expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, suggesting that it may not be commensurate with the gravity of the proven facts.
Alves’ lawyer, Ines Guardiola, stated that she will appeal the decision, expressing belief in Alves’ innocence. The former footballer, who played 408 matches for Barca across two spells and 126 times for Brazil, has been in custody since his arrest on January 20, 2023.
Throughout the trial, Alves provided different accounts of the events and initially refuted claims of sexual penetration, alleging that the encounter was consensual. Later, he admitted that sexual penetration did take place but maintained that it was consensual, confessing to initially giving false information about the incident.
Due to the serious nature of the charges against Alves, his case has garnered significant public attention and controversy, and the appeal process is expected to be closely monitored.