Court clears Dani Alves of rape, overturns four-and-a-half-year jail sentence

A Spanish court has overturned the rape conviction of Dani Alves, former Brazil and Barcelona defender. 

In February 2024, Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.

The Brazilian had maintained that the sex was consensual and was released on bail in March 2022 while he appealed the decision.

In the latest ruling on Friday, an appeals court said the case against Alves had “a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions regarding the facts”.

The court then added that the case had “insufficient evidence” to rule out the former footballer’s innocence.

The appeals court ruled that four judges had “unanimously” accepted the Alves’ appeal and “annulled” his conviction.

Alves, regarded as one of the greatest fullbacks of all time, had two spells at Barcelona and also played for Seville, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, and Sao Paulo in a trophy-laden career.

The former defender won two Copa Americas with the Brazilian national team and an Olympic gold medal at 38. He was with Pumas, a Mexican club, when he was accused and arrested of rape. The club terminated his contract immediately.