Dani Alves, the former Barcelona star, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman at a Spanish nightclub. The 40-year-old father-of-two was found guilty at the Barcelona court where he was tried earlier this month. He had been held on remand at Brians 2 Prison near the Catalan capital since his arrest in January last year.
Alves protested his innocence on February 7 after taking the stand on the last day of his three-day trial at Barcelona’s Audiencia Provincial court. He admitted to having sex in a toilet at an upmarket Barcelona nightclub on December 30, 2022, with his 23-year-old female accuser, but insisted it was consensual.
The woman, who Alves was found guilty of raping, confirmed that he had forced himself on her when she gave her evidence in court behind a screen. A friend who was with her on the night of the rape broke down in tears as she recalled how the victim was “crying uncontrollably” after leaving the small bathroom where she was.
State prosecutors had demanded a nine-year prison sentence if Alves was convicted, and a private prosecutor acting for the victim demanded a 12-year jail term at his trial. At the height of his career, Alves was considered one of the best right-backs in the world, winning a total of 41 trophies with Barcelona, PSG, and Juventus.
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