Dani Alves jailed: Former Barcelona, Brazil footballer sent to prison for rape after trial in Spain

Dani Alves, the former Barcelona and Brazil footballer, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman by a court in Spain.

A top court in the Catalonia region found him guilty of sexual assault following an incident in a nightclub on December 31, 2022.

Alves, who was arrested in January 2023 and has been held in custody since, denied the allegations. After changing his story repeatedly, he insisted any sexual relations with the woman were consensual.

Following a trial in February 2024, the 40-year-old was handed a prison sentence and ordered to pay the victim €150,000 ($160,000). He was also given a further five years' probationary order.

Alves — whose sentence was reported by Spanish media to have been reduced from the maximum available, given the court took into account that he opted to pay the victim compensation regardless of the outcome — can appeal against his conviction.

Alves had also tried to use as mitigation the fact that he was drunk, but the court rejected it.

His lawyers told reporters outside the court that they maintained their client's innocence, and that he did indeed intend to appeal.

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Alves was first arrested in January 2023 after an incident in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year's Eve in 2022.

The victim accused Alves of physical aggression and forcing her to have sex with him after she willingly entered a nightclub bathroom with him after they had been dancing.

Alves denied wrongdoing and told the court during his trial: "I am not that kind of man." He said they had consensual sex and that he had been drinking that night.

The former right-back, who won 126 caps for the Brazil national team and was part of the squad at