Dani Alves, the former Barcelona and Brazil footballer, had a conviction for rape overturned after an appeal in March 2025.
Alves was sentenced four and a half years in prison in February 2024 after being convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022.
Alves, who was arrested in January 2023, denied the allegations. After changing his story repeatedly, he insisted any sexual relations with the woman were consensual.
Following a trial in February 2024, the 40-year-old was handed a prison sentence and ordered to pay the victim €150,000 ($160,000). He was also given a further five years’ probationary order.
However, an appeals court in Catalonia unanimously upheld his appeal against the conviction, accepting that the case against him had “a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment and their consequences.”
The player has not yet commented in public, although Alves’ lawyer told RAC 1 that “justice has finally been done”.
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Dani Alves wins appeal against rape conviction
On March 28, 2025, Catalonia’s High Court of Justice unanimously upheld Alves’ appeal against his conviction.
The appeals court said the original case contained “inaccuracies and contradictions”. It said the evidence against Alves, which was based on CCTV footage and testimony from the alleged victim, “was not sufficient to counter the presumption of innocence”. It also said this testimony should have been subjected to stronger scrutiny, saying fingerprint and DNA evidence supported the defence’s argument, and it determined that the complainant voluntarily went with Alves to the nightclub bathroom. The original case argued that she did so out of fear of his friends.
The decision means Alves’ prison sentence has been quashed and the restrictions on his travel have been lifted.
Alves’ lawyer, Ines Guardiola, said to RAC 1: “We are very happy; justice has finally been done.” There is the possibility of a further appeal by the prosecution to the Supreme Court.
Maria Jesus Montero, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, was quoted by Mundo Deportivo as saying: “I will be cautious because I haven’t read the ruling, which does not mean I don’t once again express my solidarity with all victims of physical abuse or mistreatment, who sometimes find themselves in difficulty.”
Dani Alves rape trial timeline
Alves was first arrested in January 2023 after an incident in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
The alleged victim accused Alves of physical aggression and forcing her to have sex with him after she willingly entered a nightclub bathroom with him after they had been dancing.
Alves denied wrongdoing and told the court during his trial: “I am not that kind of man.” He said they had consensual sex and that he had been drinking that night.
The former right-back, who won 126 caps for the Brazil national team and was part of the squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, was detained following his initial arrest and denied bail, as he was considered a potential flight risk. Brazilian law states its citizens can be protected from extradition.
At the trial, judges found Alves guilty of sexual assault, concluding in a statement that: “It has been proven that the victim did not consent, and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven.”
Alves “grabbed the complainant, threw her to the ground and prevented her from being able to move” on the night in question, the court added. He then raped her while “she said no and wanted to leave.”
However, in March 2025, an appeals court upheld Alves’ appeal against his conviction, citing inconsistencies and contradictions along with a lack of scrutiny of the prosecution’s argument. Alves’ sentence was quashed and his travel restrictions removed.
The case has attracted significant attention in Spain due to Alves’ profile but also because of a law passed in 2022 — known as “Only Yes is Yes” — which made consent a key element in sexual assault cases.
Dani Alves football career
Alves, who was born in Bahia, Brazil, is one of the most successful male footballers in history, best known for a total of nine years over two spells at Barcelona and for representing the senior Brazil national team for 16 years.
During his 22-year professional career, which saw him play for clubs including Sevilla, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo, Alves won 37 club trophies, including league titles in Spain, Italy and France, and the UEFA Champions League three times.
Alves won the Copa America and FIFA Confederations Cup twice with Brazil and was an Olympic gold medalist in 2020. He was named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 eight times, most recently in 2018.
