Dani Alves rape case: How police tricked the footballer to return to Barcelona

FC Barcelona legend Dani Alves was already back in Mexico to fulfil his duties with Liga MX side Pumas UNAM when news broke about a complaint of alleged rape that has been brought against him. He voluntarily returned to Barcelona to testify last week, and it has since been revealed that Catalan police pulled some tricks to get the footballer to return of his own volition.

It may be remembered that prior to the footballer's arrest, reports only stated that there were "sexual assault" allegations against him. However, after he was jailed last Friday, more graphic details of the alleged rape have emerged.

According to Marca, this was a deliberate move by the Catalan police, known locally as the Mossos d'Esquadra. The police struck up a deal with Alves and his lawyer Miraida Puente Wilson to get him to voluntarily return to the country to give his testimony.

The police made sure that the gravity of the situation and the strength of the evidence and testimonies by the complainant and the witnesses were kept under wraps. This means that Alves was able to feel relatively at ease about the situation, enough to voluntarily turn himself in.

Alves was arraigned in a Barcelona courthouse on Friday and has since been detained in jail without bail. It has now been revealed that the evidence gathered by the police was enough to convince the judge to detain the footballer until a final verdict has been reached.

According to various reports, the victim's statements and those of the witnesses at the Sutton nightclub were clear and did not have inconsistencies. The 23-year-old woman was accompanied by her cousin and a friend, and they immediately sought assistance from Sutton staff after the alleged rape that she says took place inside the VIP bathroom of the club.

After the club employees became aware of the complaint, Police were notified and statements and evidence were gathered on the night of December 30 itself. Those statements are now slowly being revealed to the public.

According to the complainant, Alves and a Mexican friend invited their group to a VIP table where Barcelona's most decorated player was immediately overly handsy with the women. He then lured her to the bathroom where he forced himself on her.

Meanwhile, Alves gave a much more erratic account of the evening in question. He admitted being in the Sutton nightclub that night, but initially denied knowing the woman. He later changed his testimony to say that he did meet her but nothing happened between them. Later, he said that she jumped him, and revised that statement again to say that they did have relations but were fully consensual.

The investigation is ongoing and it is still unclear how long the footballer will remain in jail. However, Pumas terminated their contract with Alves on Friday as soon as it was confirmed that the court found enough evidence to detain him.