Dani Alves is free again. © ANSA / ALBERTO ESTEVEZ

Bail cobbled together: Dani Alves free

After a good 14 months, football professional Dani Alves, who was convicted of sexual aggression in Spain, is free again for the first time.

March 25, 2024

From: dpa

The Brazilian left the Brians 2 institution northwest of Barcelona on Monday afternoon. He had previously paid the deposit of one million euros that the judiciary had set for a provisional release from prison. Accompanied by his lawyer, the 40-year-old got into a car with a brisk step, a serious expression and without making any statements, as was seen live on the state television station RTVE.

The former Barça professional was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in Barcelona in February. His lawyers appealed the verdict at the time. Alves can wait for the judiciary's decision in this matter to be released, as the responsible court decided last week at the request of the convicted man.

In order to prevent an escape, the judiciary said it withheld the athlete's two passports, who has also had Spanish citizenship since 2005. In addition to other requirements, Alves is also not allowed to approach his victim. He must also report to court once a week.

Did Neymar lend him money?

According to media reports, Alves had difficulty collecting the required deposit. The superstar's father denied reports that his compatriot Neymar would lend him money for this. Media in Spain and Brazil recently reported that the convicted footballer only had relatively little money.

Dani Alves (here during his Barca days) was once a world-class defender. © APA/afp / PAU BARRENA

Alves was sentenced on February 22nd. He also has to pay the victim 150.000 euros. He had been in custody for over a year before the verdict after a young woman accused him of forcing her to have sex in a toilet at a nightclub in Barcelona on the night of December 31, 2022. During the trial, Alves rejected the allegations. The sexual acts were carried out with the woman's consent.

The 126-time Seleção national player, who also played in Europe for FC Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus Turin, was only arrested three weeks after the incident - on January 20th of the previous year - during a visit to Catalonia . Before his arrest, he had been playing for the UNAM Pumas club in Mexico.