Spanish prosecutors ‘set to demand a longer sentence for former Barcelona star Dani Alves’ after his four-and-a-half-year jail term for r@pe

Spanish prosecutors are set to appeal against the four-and-a-half year jail term handed to former Brazil and Barcelona player Dani Alves for rape. 

The 40-year-old footballer was sentenced last month for the incident in a Spanish nightclub bathroom, having been held on remand at Brians 2 Prison near the Catalan capital since his arrest in January 2023. 

During the trial, state prosecutors had expressed a desire for a nine-year jail term, while a lawyer acting for the victim demanded a 12-year sentence. 

Judicial sources reported on Friday to AFP (via RFI) that national prosecutors will press for a tougher sentence.

In addition to the four-and-a-half-year jail sentence, Alves was also handed five years’ probation after serving his jail sentence, and ordered to pay the victim €150,000 (£128,000) in compensation. 

Alves, who also played for Seville, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo, insisted that the encounter was consensual, but the court ruled in favour of the woman, who said Alves had violently forced her to have sex in a private bathroom of the nightclub despite her begging him to release her, causing ‘anguish and terror’. 

Immediately following last month’s conviction, Alves’ lawyer Ines Guardiola confirmed outside court that an appeal would be lodged.

She said: ‘We are going to appeal the sentence and I still believe in the innocence of Mr Alves. He’s doing okay.

‘Obviously four-and-a-half years’ prison is better than nine years or 12 years and I have yet to read the full sentence but I will appeal.’