It took Dani Alves five days to raise one million euros, after the court's decision last Wednesday to grant him this release on bail pending his appeal trial. The Brazilian footballer was sentenced at first instance in February for rape to four and a half years in prison.

With a closed face, dressed in jeans and a black coat, the player crossed on foot, Monday March 25, shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT) the door of Brians 2 prison in San Esteban Sasroviras, 40 kilometers northwest of Barcelona, ​​escorted at a distance by police officers, without saying a word or glancing at the many journalists present. He then got into a car and left the prison parking lot accompanied by his lawyer Inés Guardiola.

Also read: Dani Alves, ex-Barça and Brazil star, sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison for rape

He is also prohibited from approaching within one kilometer of the victim's home or place of work and from coming into contact with her.

The ex-star of FC Barcelona, ​​Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain will have to report to the Barcelona court every Friday, specifies the legal document consulted by AFP, which certifies that the deposit was indeed posted on Monday morning .

Degraded finances

Persistent rumors had suggested that the father of another Brazilian football star, his former FC Barcelona teammate Neymar, could help him post bail.

But Neymar's father, who admitted in January to having paid 150,000 euros to help the former full-back pay his legal fees, assured Thursday that since Alves' conviction, the situation was "different".

Dani Alves' financial situation has deteriorated considerably since his arrest, notably with the suspension of his contract with the Mexican club Pumas and the cessation of other sources of income, according to his defense.

He had been placed in pre-trial detention in this Brians 2 penitentiary center upon his arrest in January 2023, after being accused of the rape of a young woman on the night of December 30 to 31, 2022 in a nightclub in Barcelona.

© Pau BARRENA / AFP/Archives

Tried at first instance last month, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and therefore remained behind bars.

The prosecution opposed this request for release, considering that the risk of flight was significant.

Criticisms of Lula

The victim's lawyer, Me Ester García, criticized the court's decision, citing "justice for the rich".

This decision was also criticized by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who considered that "the money that Daniel Alves has (...) cannot (could) redeem the offense of a man towards a woman he raped.

To convince the court to accept this release, his lawyer Me Guardiola argued that the former player had already served a quarter of the sentence handed down at first instance.

This four and a half year prison sentence handed down on February 22 was much lower than the prosecution's demands, which called for nine years in prison. The prosecution announced that it would appeal.

© Jordi BORRAS / POOL/AFP/Archives

The court also forced the player to pay 150,000 euros to his victim and imposed five years of supervised release on him after his release from prison, as well as a ban on approaching his victim for nine and a half years.

During his trial, Alves, aged 40, assured that the sexual relationship was consensual, but his defense had been weakened by his numerous changes of versions, pinned down by the prosecution. The player has appealed, but the date of his new trial is still unknown.

The “Seleçao” (the Brazilian national football team), which is currently in Madrid for a match on Tuesday evening against the “Roja”, expressed its solidarity “with the victims” on Friday, after being criticized for its silence after the rape convictions of Alves and another fallen glory of Carioca football, Robinho.

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