Brazil footballer Dani Alves sentenced to 4½ years in jail for rape
- One of the world’s most decorated footballers with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Alves, 40, is found guilty of raping woman in nightclub in December 2022
- ‘The victim did not consent and there is evidence that, beyond the complainant’s testimony, permits the rape to be considered proven,’ Barcelona court rules
A Spanish court on Thursday sentenced former Brazil football international Dani Alves to 4½ years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
“The victim did not consent and there is evidence that, beyond the complainant’s testimony, permits the rape to be considered proven,” the Barcelona court wrote in a statement.
Prosecutors had called for a nine-year jail sentence for the three-time Champions League winner followed by 10 years of probation.
One of the world’s most decorated footballers who played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain during a storied career, Alves, 40, went on trial earlier this month on charges of raping a woman at the Sutton nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.
His accuser – who testified behind a screen to protect her identity – said Alves had violently forced her to have sex in a private bathroom of the nightclub despite her begging him to let her go, causing her “anguish and terror”, according to prosecutors.
