Dani Alves handed four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for sexual assault in Barcelona nightclub

The former Barcelona and Brazil star was found guilty after a three-day trial in Catalonia

Former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.

The decision was reached by a three-judge panel of Catalonia’s top court following a three-day trial. The court also ordered Alves to pay €150,000 (£120,000) to the victim.

“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 court said in a statement.

Dani Alves sits during his trial in Barcelona (Getty)

Alves has always stringently denied wrongdoing, claiming sex with the woman was consensual. He can appeal against the ruling.

The 40-year-old, who enjoyed a glittering career primarily playing for Barcelona, was arrested in January last year and held on remand until trial. His requests for bail were denied after the court deemed him a flight risk because Brazil does not extradite citizens sentenced in foreign countries.

State prosecutors had been seeking a nine-year prison term while his victim’s lawyers had sought a 12-year sentence. His defence team asked for his acquittal or, if found guilty, a one-year sentence plus €50,000 (£43,000) compensation for the victim.

Alves’s case drew nationwide attention in Spain, where a law passed in 2022 made consent central to sexual assault cases and increased the minimum prison sentence for violent assault.