FOOTBALL player Dani Alves has been given a four-and-a-half year prison sentence by a court in Barcelona for the rape of a young women in a nightclub on December 30, 2022.
The High Court in the Catalan capital made its ruling known to the 40-year-old Brazilian, his defence team and the prosecution on Thursday.
The trial of Alves began in early February, and the ruling came two weeks after its conclusion.
Alves will have to pay compensation of €150,000 to the 23-year-old victim, and will not be allowed to approach her for a period of nine-and-a-half years.
The now ex-Barcelona and Brazil player has already served a year in custody since the case came to light.
During the trial, a tearful Alves told the court that the victim ‘never told me to stop’ during their encounter in the bathroom of a VIP area in the upscale Sutton nightclub in Barcelona in the early hours of December 31, 2022.
But a friend of the victim, who has remained anonymous throughout the court proceedings, testified that she was in a state of ‘shock’ after fleeing the bathroom where the sexual assault happened.
Alves is widely considered to be one of the greatest right-backs in the history of football. Mexican side Pumas UNAM, for whom Mr Alves played at the time of the assault, terminated his contract with immediate effect following his arrest.
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