A court in Spain has found former Barcelona and Brazil footballer, Dani Alves guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Recall that 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.
However, the court ordered him to pay €150,000 (£128,500) to the victim and said that he should face five years’ probation afterwards.
It was gathered that prosecutors said, Alves and his friend had bought champagne for three young women before luring one of them to a VIP area of the nightclub with a toilet which she had no knowledge of.
They argued that it was at this point he turned violent, forcing the woman to have sex despite her repeated requests to leave.
The court added that there was evidence other than the victim’s testimony that proved that she had been raped.
The woman said that the rape had caused her “anguish and terror”, and one of her friends who was with her on the night described how the 23-year-old had cried “uncontrollably” after leaving the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Alves has been held in pre-trial detention since January 2023 and has changed his testimony on a number of occasions.
Alves played more than 400 times for Barcelona, winning six league titles and three Champions Leagues across two spells with the club. He was also part of Brazil’s 2022 World Cup squad.