Former Barcelona and Brazil right-back Dani Alves Found Guilty of Sexual Assault

The ex-Barcelona and Brazil right-back has been found guilty of sexual assault and therefore has been sentenced to serve four and a half years in prison.

Alves was arrested by Spanish authorities in his home in Barcelona in January 2023 as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault in a nightclub in the Catalonian capital.

The Spanish public prosecutor's office alleged that the former Barcelona right-back sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman on the night of December 30, 2022, at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona.

Alves, who was found guilty on Thursday morning, has also been sentenced to a further five-year 'supervised freedom' once released, adding this to the fact that the Brazilian has already paid £128k to the victim plus legal fees.

Alves is strictly forbidden to communicate with the victim or go within one kilometre of her for the next nine years and six months.

"The ruling considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there are elements of evidence, in addition to the testimony of the complainant, to understand rape occurred," said the court statement.

Spanish prosecutors were looking for a heavier sentence for the former Barcelona player in the form of nine years, with a member of the victim's prosecution, David Saez, claiming: "We are not satisfied with the sentence.

"We have to consider whether the severity of the sentence is commensurate with the gravity of the facts that have now been proven."

Inés Guardiola, Alves' lawyer said that they would be appealing the decision, adding: "I still believe in Mr Alves' innocence and will defend it to the end.

"He is in one piece. Now we have to study the sentence calmly."

The 126 capped Brazilian has been in custody since his arrest in January 2023, being held in a prison in the north-west of Barcelona even before his trial had begun in February of the same year.

At the beginning of the trial, five people testified: The alleged victim, her friend, her cousin, a waiter and a doorman from the nightclub. Alves' defence requested that the former Barcelona and Juventus player testify last on the final day of the trial.

The following day which saw a total of 21 witnesses take the stand, with the most prominent ones being Joana Sanz, Alves' then wife and Bruno Basil, a friend who was with the Alves on the night of the incident in question.

Throughout the investigation, Alves has provided different accounts of the events, even going as far as confessing to initially giving false information in a desperate attempt to preserve his marriage.