REVEALED: The date Dani Alves could be released from prison – and good behaviour could mean it’s a matter of months into his four-and-a-half-year sentence
Dani Alves could be released from prison on July 20 this year, it has emerged.
The former Barcelona and Brazil defender was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of raping a woman in a Spanish nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.
The married 40-year-old father of two faced his first night behind bars as a convicted sex offender on Thursday. He had been in pre-trial detention in Brians 2 prison near the Catalan capital since his arrest in January last year.
Although he was given a 54-month prison sentence, it has emerged that he could be out in just five months if he were to receive his provisional release.
Although the judge will have the final say on any parole, Alves could be released early through good behavior after serving a third of the sentence imposed on him.
The date on which Dani Alves could be released from prison has been announced following his sentencing
Prosecutors had pushed for a 12-year prison sentence for the 40-year-old Brazilian after he was convicted in 2022 of raping a woman in a Spanish nightclub.
A 61-page ruling shows that Alves “grabbed the victim, threw her to the ground and prevented her from moving” during the act
The woman he was found guilty of raping insisted the footballer forced himself on her after hitting her
Alves’ sentence will run from when he was arrested in January 2023, meaning he has already served more than a year and could be released when a third is served in July.
However, according to AS, this is unlikely to happen due to a possible return from Spain to Brazil.
In April 2025, meanwhile, he could be allowed to sleep over and spend weekends at home, again subject to good behavior.
The woman he was found guilty of raping insisted the footballer forced himself on her after hitting her as she gave evidence in court behind a screen.
Prosecutors wanted him jailed for nine years and a lawyer acting for his victim had demanded he serve 12 years in prison if convicted.
The three judges confirmed in a 61-page written ruling released after Alves learned of his sentence during the closed-door hearing. They had taken into account his advance payment of £128,000 (€150,000) as a ‘mitigating factor’. he was ordered to give his victim as compensation.
They concluded that she had danced with Alves before voluntarily going to a toilet next to Sutton’s VIP area where the footballer had entered moments earlier in what they described as an apparent ‘prior agreement’ to ‘engage with him in a more intimate to be space’.
But setting out what they said had been proven and had helped convict Alves, they added: ‘He attempted to penetrate his victim using his greater strength and throwing her to the ground and hitting her to knock your knee.
Alves could – depending on good behavior – be released as early as July 20, as he has been held since January 2023.
Alves’ lawyer Ines Guardiola confirmed after the decision that she would appeal against Wednesday’s decision
‘The victim asked Dani Alves to let her leave and made it clear that she wanted to get out of there, but he wouldn’t let her.
“When she found herself in that situation, in that small toilet with no way to leave because Mr. Alves was holding her back with the violent attitude he demonstrated, she felt shocked and unable to react properly or breathe given the situation of fear and terror. she experienced.’
Alves’ lawyer Ines Guardiola revealed after the sentencing that the disgraced star will appeal the conviction.
She said: “We are appealing the verdict and I still believe in Mr Alves’ innocence. He is doing well.’
‘It’s clear that four and a half years in prison is better than nine or 12 years and I have yet to read the full sentence, but I will appeal.’
At the height of his career, Alves was considered one of the best right-backs in the world
In addition to the prison sentence and £128,000 (€150,000) in compensation, Alves was given a further five years’ parole and a nine-and-a-half year restraining order, preventing him from contacting his victim or going near her.
Alves, who became the oldest player to represent Brazil at the December 2022 World Cup in Qatar, went on trial last November.
It was initially reported that he was accused of putting his hands down a woman’s underwear in a toilet in the VIP area of Sutton nightclub, before it emerged that his victim said she had been raped.
He was fired by Mexican side UNAM Pumas following his arrest early last year in Barcelona after flying back to the Catalan capital to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral.
He filed repeated bail applications after being in jail, but all were rejected. The judges said his victim’s version of events was coherent and pointed out that Alves had changed his story several times when evidence authorities came forward against him.
He has admitted cheating on his ex-wife, Joana Sanz (pictured), but insists he had consensual sex with his accuser
Alves denied physically and sexually assaulting his victim, saying he is “not that type of man.”
Alves claimed before his arrest that he never met his female accuser, but eventually returned after his arrest.
In an exclusive interview from prison last June with a Spanish TV reporter, he claimed: ‘The only person I have to ask for forgiveness is my wife.’
Police were called to the Sutton nightclub moments after Alves left with a male friend when his rape victim and two women she was with alerted security.
A friend who was with her told judges earlier this month that her boyfriend was “crying uncontrollably” after leaving the toilet and said Alves had “really hurt her”.
Representatives of the victim were seen leaving the court in Barcelona, the city where he enjoyed so much success during his playing career
Alves denied during his trial that he had physically and sexually assaulted his victim, saying: ‘I’m not that type of man, I’m not violent.’
His ex-wife, Tenerife-born model Joana Sanz, gave evidence on his behalf and said he came home ‘very drunk’. His alcohol consumption that evening was not taken into account as a mitigating circumstance.