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A Spanish court has convicted Brazilian footballer Dani Alves of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub, sentencing him to four years and six months in prison. The verdict was delivered after a three-day trial this month, with Alves, 40, staunchly denying any misconduct. This decision, however, is subject to appeal.
On the night of December 31, 2022, the court found that Alves committed sexual assault against the victim in the bathroom of a posh nightclub in Barcelona. The prosecution had initially sought a nine-year prison term for Alves, while the victim’s legal team pushed for a twelve-year sentence. In contrast, Alves’s defense argued for acquittal or, failing that, a minimal one-year sentence paired with €50,000 in victim compensation.
Alves has been in custody since January 20, 2023, with his bail requests denied due to flight risk concerns, especially given Brazil’s policy against extraditing its citizens.
The victim’s account to state prosecutors detailed how, after dancing with Alves, she entered the nightclub bathroom with him but was later prevented from leaving. She reported that Alves became violent, resorting to physical assault and verbal insults before forcing her into non-consensual sexual acts. During the investigation, Alves changed his account of the events, initially denying any sexual contact and later claiming the encounter was consensual—a defense he said was aimed at protecting his marriage.
Notably, Alves’s trial strategy included an attempt to prove his intoxication at the time of meeting the victim, a point that ultimately did not sway the court’s ruling. This case is particularly significant as it tests Spain’s revised sex crime legislation, which places consent at the core of sexual offense adjudications. This legislative overhaul was motivated by widespread protests following a notorious gang-rape incident during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2016.
Alves, a celebrated footballer with an illustrious career at clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, and achievements including two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal, finds his legacy overshadowed by this conviction. His arrest led to the immediate termination of his contract with Mexican club Pumas, marking a precipitous fall from grace.
