Dani Alves rape case: Footballer uses his wife as shield

The Dani Alves rape case continues to be investigated in Barcelona while the footballer is being held in jail without bail. He gave inconsistent statements during his arraignment last week, but has now claimed that the reason behind the inconsistencies is his wife.

It may be remembered that Alves voluntarily returned to Spain with his wife, Spanish model Joana Sanz, and was subsequently arrested on Friday, January 20. Following the presentation of evidence and the statements from both sides, the judge decided to detain Alves without bail.

For his part, Alves gave at least three different versions of what took place on the night of the alleged sexual assault. According to his most recent statements, the reason behind his initial outright denial of even knowing his accuser was because he did not want his wife to find out that he had cheated on her.

Alves is married Sanz, whom he accompanied back to Barcelona because she had just lost her mother to cancer. Ahead of the trip, he and his lawyer Miraida Puente Wilson had agreed to present himself to authorities to cooperate in the investigation surrounding the allegations against him.

However, the evidence provided was enough to convince the judge to detain the FC Barcelona legend, leading also to the termination of his contract with Liga MX side Pumas UNAM.

He has since reinforced his legal team by hiring Cristobal Martell, who is an experienced criminal law practitioner. The new team studied the case, including the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Their top priority at the moment is to lodge an appeal to get Alves out of jail even if he has to post a sizeable bail or wear an ankle monitor. According to Marca, the defence team wants Alves out of the Brians 2 prison but is willing to return to court even on a daily basis while the case is in progress.

Martell has spoken about the case to local media and said that Alves continues to deny that there was any "sexual assault" that happened on December 30 at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona. However, he admits having "consensual" sexual relations with his accuser on the night in question. He previously denied this in an effort to hide the same from Sanz.

His lawyer also claims that Alves was in shock when he was questioned by the police, hence his erratic version of the events.