Former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in Spain. The 40-year-old was found guilty of assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022 and has been in custody since being arrested for the offence in January 2023.
Alves will also pay his victim 150,000 euros (£128,000) in compensation and their court costs. However, the footballers has the right to appeal against his sentence.
A statement from the Audiencia de Barcelona on Thursday read: “The Court of Barcelona has condemned footballer Dani Alves to four years and six months in prison for sexual assault.
“The victim must also receive 150,000 euros and have their legal costs paid. The sentence takes into consideration that it has been proven the victim did not consent and that there is evidence in addition to their testimony that proves the offence.”
The victim testified in court that she willingly went into the nightclub bathroom after dancing with Alves, but that he later refused to let her leave when she wanted to. She claimed he had insulted her, slapped her, and coerced her into having intercourse against her will.
While in detention during investigation , Alves changed his defence, initially denying any sexual contact with her and then acknowledging to having had consensual intercourse.
The court did not, however, accept the argument put forward by his lawyers that he should be given a more lenient sentence because he was drunk.
When he returned to their Barcelona home the night of the rape, according to his wife Joana Sanz, he appeared to be highly drunk and bumped into furniture until passing out on the bed. However, the court ruled that his alcohol intake had no bearing on his actions.
According to the prosecution, Alves and his friend had purchased champagne for three young ladies, and then they had lured one of them to a private section of the nightclub that contained a restroom, for which she was unaware. They argued that it was at this point he turned violent, forcing the woman to have sex despite her repeated requests to leave.
Alves had maintained she could have left “if she wanted to”. However, the court found that she did not consent.
In a statement, the court said there was evidence other than the victim’s testimony that proved that she had been raped.
It said Alves had “abruptly grabbed the complainant” and thrown her to the ground. He had then raped her while preventing her from moving as “the complainant said no and wanted to leave”, it added.
The woman said the rape had caused her “anguish and terror”, and one of her friends who was with her on the night described how the 23-year-old had cried “uncontrollably” after leaving the bathroom.
The defender is one of the most decorated footballers in history, and played more than 400 times for Barcelona, winning six Spanish LaLiga titles and three UEFA Champions Leagues across two spells with the club.
