Dani Alves begs wife not to leave him amid rape allegations

FC Barcelona legend Dani Alves is attempting to put out flames from multiple fronts. Apart from the challenge of clearing his name against sexual assault allegations, he is now reportedly making an effort to save his marriage.

The Brazilian footballer is married to Spanish model Joana Sanz. The pair travelled back to Barcelona together in the middle of January to attend her mother's funeral. However, Alves was arrested and held in prison without bail on January 20 after the judge was convinced by the strength of the evidence presented against him.

Sanz was clearly devastated by what happened and even released a video on social media stating that she had lost the two pillars in her life at the same time. She also deleted most of her pictures with Alves from her Instagram page.

Spanish show "El Programa de Ana Rosa" has since reported that she is seeking a divorce, something that her camp has since denied. "I want to make it clear that the recent information about things I have said are totally false. I have not contacted any media or any specific journalist," she said.

It is understood that the couple have not spoken face to face since Alves was arrested on January 20. However, "El Programa de Ana Rosa" again claims to have insider information about the status of their relationship.

According to the program, Alves has contacted Sanz through a phone call. The model allegedly informed the footballer of her plan to divorce him, which came as no surprise to him. In fact, his lawyers had reportedly been made aware of his wife's intention to serve him with divorce papers.

It is important to point out that Alves initially denied knowing his accuser, but was eventually forced to admit that he had met her and that he had cheated on his wife. He claimed that his inconsistent statements were due to his effort to hide the indiscretion from his wife. However, he maintains that the relations with the 23-year-old woman were consensual and no sexual assault took place.

Despite his nightclub adventure on the evening of December 30, Alves reportedly told Sanz "that he loved her." The Brazilian also reportedly told his wife that he does not want to lose her.

She is reportedly open to hearing his side, but as of the moment she is still steadfast in her plan to file for divorce. Alves and his lawyers have reportedly advised Sanz to avoid speaking publicly about the case at this time.