Former Brazil international Dani Alves, who was found guilty of rape in Spain in February, has paid his €1m bail and can leave prison pending a decision on his appeal, a court in Spain has announced.
"We inform you that the bail deposit of Daniel Alves has been registered in the accounts of the 21st Section of the Court of Barcelona", it said in a statement.
At the end of February, the former Barcelona, Juventus and PSG star was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison after being found guilty of raping a young woman in the VIP toilet of a Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of December 31. , 2022.
Less than a month later, however, it was decided that the Brazilian would be released on €1 million, with one of the reasons for the decision being that he had already served a quarter of his sentence while the case was ongoing. An additional condition of the court was that Alves surrender his Spanish and Brazilian passports, remain in Spain and appear in court weekly - three conditions he eventually complied with. He is expected to be released later today from Brians 2 prison, northwest of Barcelona, where he has been held since his January 2023 arrest amid fears he may leave the country. Brazil does not extradite citizens who have been sentenced in other countries.
The court's decision provoked a strong reaction, with the lawyer of the woman raped by Alves saying it was "justice for the rich". "I am very surprised and completely scandalized. This is justice for the rich. It's outrageous, he can find a million in seconds," commented Esther Garcia.
Alves, 40, is one of the most decorated players in football history. He is a six-time champion of Spain with Barcelona, and with the Catalans he has also won the Champions League three times, the Spanish Cup four times, the country's Super Cup four times, the European Super Cup three times and the Club World Cup three times. Alves became champion of Italy with Juventus and two-time champion of France with PSG, and twice won the Copa America with Brazil. He has a total of 43 trophies in his career, trailing only Lionel Messi. /BGNES
