Dani Alves was once considered one of the best right-backs in the world. During his 22-year football career, the Brazilian won numerous team titles and individual awards. However, the 40-year-old footballer has been in the news for the last two years as he was found guilty in a serious sexual assault-case that saw him being sentenced to jail time.
It seems Dani Alves might not have to serve his entire sentence after all. Recently, Alves was bailed out by a former Barcelona player, Memphis Depay.
Memphis Depay paid €1 million to get Dani Alves out of prison
Alves was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison last month after a court found him guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022. Recently, on Monday, the court in Spain gave the former Barcelona and Brazil footballer permission to leave jail pending his appeal, after he made the stated bail.
“We hereby inform you that the deposit of Daniel Alves’ bail has been registered in the accounts of the 21st section of the Barcelona Court,” said a statement.
The 40-year-old has been held in pre-trial detention since January 2023.
Speaking last week, Ester Garcia, the victim’s lawyer said, “To me, it’s a scandal that they let a person who they know can get a million euros in no time walk free.”
The player has served about a quarter of his sentence for the crime to this point, a fact highlighted by Alves’ lawyer when his conditional release was requested earlier this month.
The conditions for his release include handing over both his Brazilian and Spanish passports so he is unable to leave Spain. He must also appear before the court on a weekly basis. The court additionally imposed a restraining order, preventing him from approaching the victim.
However, the decision was not unanimous due to a dissenting vote from one of the judges.
It was quite surprising when Memphis Depay stepped in to help Brazilian footballer Dani Alves by paying his bail amount of €1 million. However, Depay was not the only one who offered assistance during Alves’ difficult time. The media and fans had mixed reactions to Depay’s kind gesture, as Alves is a convicted criminal according to the law.
Details on Dani Alves rape case
During the trial in February, prosecutors said Alves and his friend had bought champagne for three young women before Alves lured one of them to a bathroom in the VIP area of the club.
They argued that it was at this point he turned violent, forcing the woman to have sex despite her repeated requests to leave.
Alves had maintained she could have left “if she wanted to.”
However, the court found that she did not consent.
Spanish law was changed recently to enshrine the importance of consent under the “Only Yes is Yes” principle.
In a statement, the court said there was evidence, other than the victim’s testimony, that proved that she had been raped.
It said Alves had “abruptly grabbed the complainant” and thrown her to the ground. He had then raped her while preventing her from moving as “the complainant said no and wanted to leave,” it added.
Alves changed his testimony on a number of occasions, which made the case much weaker in his favor. He first denied knowing his accuser, only to claim later that he had met her in the toilet, but that nothing had happened between them.
He then changed his version of events again, saying that they had had consensual sex. “We were both enjoying ourselves,” he alleged.
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