Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and half years in prison after been found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub.
A court in Spain found Alves guilty of raping the woman in the early hours of 31 December 2022
The 40-year-old, who is one of the most decorated footballers in history, had denied sexually assaulting the woman in the early hours of 31 December 2022.
His lawyer had asked for him to be acquitted and Alves can appeal against the sentence.
Alves had been accused of luring the woman to a toilet in a VIP section of the nightclub and had argued that 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 also ordered him to pay €150,000 to the victim.
Alves has been held in pre-trial detention since January 2023 and during the course of this month’s trial he has changed his testimony on a number of occasions.
He first denied knowing his accuser only to later claim he had met her in the toilet but that nothing had happened between them.
He then changed his version of events again, saying that they had had consensual sex. “We were both enjoying ourselves,” he alleged.
Ex-Barcelona Star Dani Alves Sentenced To Four Years In Jail
