Ex-Barcelona player Dani Alves jailed for sexual assault

Catalonia's top court on Thursday found former Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison.

The court also ordered Alves to pay 150,000 euros ($162,990) to the victim.

“The verdict assumes that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that, in addition to the plaintiff's statement, there is also evidence to prove the rape,” the court said in a statement.

Alves had claimed the sex was consensual and his lawyers told reporters outside the courthouse that he planned to appeal the sentence, which also included a five-year suspended sentence upon release and a nine-and-a-half-year restraining order.

The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of nine years.

“We are satisfied because the verdict recognizes what we have said all along: that the victim told the truth and that she suffered,” the victim's lawyer, David Saenz, told reporters, adding that his team will still analyze whether the verdict corresponds to the seriousness of the crime.

Alves' lawyer, Ines Guardiola, disagreed with the verdict and said: “We will appeal. I still believe in Dani Alves' innocence. We haven't read the whole judgment yet because it is very long, but we will study it in detail now. We defend [Alves’] Innocence.”

Alves, 40, was first arrested in January 2023 after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

Since then, Alves has been held in preventive detention in Spain, with a judge rejecting regular requests for bail and deeming him a flight risk.

The case was heard for three days in a Barcelona court earlier this month, with Alves changing his story for the fifth time shortly before the trial began.

At first he claimed he didn't know the alleged victim. He later said he met the woman in the club's bathroom but nothing happened.

The previous Barcelona And Paris St Germain When confronted with biological evidence, the defense attorney again changed his version of events and said she had consensually performed oral sex on him.

Last April, following the results of further biological tests, Alves admitted for the first time to having sex with the woman, claiming it was consensual and that he had lied to hide his infidelity to his wife.

Alves spoke for the first time in advance of the hearing that he was drunk that night.

“I’m not that type of man.” Alves said in response to his defender asked whether he had forced her into sexual relations during the trial.

The alleged victim told prosecutors that she danced with Alves and entered the bathroom voluntarily, but that later when she wanted to leave, he did not let her. She said he beat her, insulted her and raped her.

Alves denied this.

“We both had fun,” Alves said, while repeatedly emphasizing that the woman never asked to leave or indicated that she did not want to have sexual relations with him. He also denied hitting or insulting her.

During the three day trialA friend and cousin of the alleged victim said she was “disturbed” after leaving the toilet Police officers who looked after her that night testified She was deeply shocked and told them that she had been sexually abused by Alves.

Alves' friend, who accompanied him, said the footballer had drunk wine and whiskey before going to the nightclub – drunkenness can be considered a mitigating factor by a court and lead to a shorter prison sentence.

According to his friend, Alves and the woman danced together and showed “chemistry” before going to the bathroom, and he didn't notice anything wrong with the woman afterward.

A forensic psychologist who examined the woman testified that she was suffering from “post-traumatic” symptoms, a conclusion disputed by an outside expert brought in by the defense.

During his career spanning over 20 years, Alves won major titles with elite clubs such as Barça, Juventus and PSG. He helped too Brazil Win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38.

He was playing on his third World Championshipthe only major title he did not win was in 2022. He played for Barça from 2008 to 2016 and briefly returned to the club for a second spell in 2022 before moving to the Pumas in Mexico.

Alves' contract with the Mexican club was terminated immediately after his arrest.

Information from ESPN's Sam Marsden contributed to this report.