The most decorated footballer in the world, Dani Alves will be spending the next four and a half years of his life in prison after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
The former Barcelona player has maintained his stand throughout the trial that he is not guilty. However, the court found Alves guilty of sexually assaulting his victim early in the morning of December 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub.
The victim told state prosecutors she danced with Alves and willingly entered the nightclub bathroom, but that later when she wanted to leave he would not let her. She also said that he slapped her, insulted her and forced her to have sexual relations against her will.
Alves had initially first denied any sexual contact with her before admitting to sexual relations that he said were consensual. He said he did not admit the accusation at first because he had been trying to save his marriage.
Alves won a lot of trophies with Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He was also Brazil to win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38. He played at his third World Cup, the only major title he has not won, in 2022.
He was with the Mexican club Pumas when he was arrested. Pumas terminated his contract immediately.
