Dani Alves Released on bail while he appeals rape conviction

• Dani Alves has been released on $1.085 million bail
• He will be appearing in court weekly until his final sentence
• He is also required to hand in his Brazilian and Spanish passports and is prohibited from leaving the country

Dani Alves gets relief from his previous denied bail after the court released him temporarily on bail, waiting for the final verdict from the sexual assault case while he appeals the rape conviction.

Since his arrest, he was behind bars and was denied bail since the court deemed him a flight risk. Barcelona court has released him on a bail of $1.085 million pending his final sentence. Alves has served one year and two months in prison.

In addition to the bail, the court ordered him to submit his Brazilian and Spain passports and is prohibited from leaving the country, He must appear in court weekly till the final verdict is released.

This is a case that has caused controversy from his lawyer seeking his acquittal while the prosecutor’s plea is to have his sentence increased to nine years. The former right-back was convicted in Spain under a new sexual law that emphasizes the lack of consent of the victim as key to determining sex crimes.

Dani Alves biography

Dani Alves was born in Brazil, and his passion for football began in childhood. His career began at Bahia in 2001 playing as a winger, but his father encouraged him to switch to a right-back.

Dani Alves. Photo/Sky Sports

The player moved to Spain and joined Sevilla FC for six seasons, a spell that proved transformative, making him a key player. During his time with the club, he lifted two UEFA Cups and a Copa del Rey.

His breakthrough point was signing with Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. He amassed an astonishing collection of titles with the club including six La Liga Championships, three Champions League trophies and numerous others for eight seasons.

After leaving Barcelona, he had stints with Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain and returned to Brazil with Sao Paulo FC, then to Italy and France.

He was a mainstay for the Brazilian national team, earning the third-most caps in their history.

Alves personal life

Dani Alves was born on May 6 1983 in Juazeiro, State of Bahia, Brazil to Domingos Alves da Silva who instilled a passion for football in him. In his life, he has been married twice. His first marriage was to Dinora Santana and the couple had two children together, a son and a daughter but divorced after three years.

In 2017, he got married to a Spanish model Joana Sanz in a private ceremony, however, their marriage fell out due to the sexual assault allegations.

Alves sexual assault incident

The 40-year-old was charged with raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022 and since then, he was behind bars since he was denied bail after the court deemed him a flight risk.

Dani Alves. Photo/Sky Sports

He stayed in prison for one year and two months before being convicted in February 2024 and sentenced to four and a half years.

Alves gets a bail relief

Pending his final sentence, Alves has received a bail relief of $1.085 million and will be temporarily released though his passport will be confiscated, and will be expected to appear in court every week till the final verdict.

He has been deemed a flight risk and to avoid that, the court ordered that he submit his passport. Alves’ lawyer and the state prosecutor have appealed the conviction, his defence seeking his acquittal while the prosecutor wants his prison increased to nine years.

What to expect from Alves’ final verdict

At this juncture, we can not predict the outcome of his appeal since legal proceedings can be complex and unpredictable. Looking at the possibilities, if the court holds the original verdict, he would serve his prison sentence though this is a possibility, but not guaranteed.

The court might also reduce the sentence length if they find mitigating factors or procedural errors in the original trial. In case the court finds new evidence or believes the original verdict was flawed, they could overturn the conviction entirely.