Former Barcelona and Brazil soccer player Dani Alves was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, a Barcelona court ruled on Thursday.
The Barcelona provincial court, where the trial was held earlier this month, concluded that the assault was not consensual based on evidence beyond the victim’s testimony, according to a court statement released on Thursday.
“The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent, and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven,” the statement said.
Alves, 40, was arrested in January 2023 following the alleged incident at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022 and has been held in pre-trial detention since then. He maintained throughout the trial that the sexual encounter was consensual.
However, the three-judge panel presiding over the case, in their 61-page verdict, stated they found it “proven that the accused abruptly grabbed the plaintiff, threw her to the floor and prevented her from moving” to commit the sexual assault. This occurred, they added, “despite the plaintiff saying no, that she wanted to leave.”
The court also ordered Alves to pay the victim €150,000 (approximately $162,700) in damages.
Following the verdict, Alves’ lawyer, Inés Guardiola, informed reporters outside the courthouse that her client will appeal the ruling.
Alves is considered one of the most decorated soccer players of his generation, having won domestic championships in Spain, Italy, and France, along with three Champions League titles with Barcelona.