Former Barcelona Star Dani Alves Sentenced to Jail for Rape

M10News – Former Barcelona star Dani Alves has been found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub and has been sentenced to jail for four-and-a-half years.

Alves, who played 408 games for Barcelona, is among the most decorated footballers in history and has won league titles in Spain, Italy, and France.

The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of December 31, 2022 – when she said he raped her in the bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona.

According to the Associated Press, 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 claimed he slapped her, insulted her, and forced her to have sexual relations against her will.

Alves denies any wrongdoing regarding the charges, and the decision over his guilty verdict can be appealed.

The Alves case was the first high-profile sex crime since Spain overhauled its legislation in 2022 to make consent – or the lack thereof – central to defining a sex crime.

It came into force in response to protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016.

One of the most excellent full-backs of all time, Alves won 23 trophies with Barcelona, including three Champions League titles.

The 40-year-old was also capped 126 times for Brazil and helped his country land the Copa America title twice.

The ruling was made by a three-judge panel in a Barcelona court following a three-day trial this month.

Alves modified his defence during the investigative phase while in custody – first denying any sexual contact with her – before admitting to sexual relations that he said were consensual. He said he had been trying to save his marriage by not initially accepting the encounter.

During the trial, his defence focused on trying to show that Alves was drunk when he met the woman.