Ex-Barcelona star Dani Alves sentenced to four years in jail

A Spanish court on Thursday found former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub, BBC reports.

Alves has been handed a jail sentence of four years and six months.

The ruling by a three-judge panel in a Barcelona court on Thursday followed a three-day trial this month.

Alves, 40, denied any wrongdoing during the trial. The decision can be appealed.

The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of December 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub.

State prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence for Alves while the lawyers representing his accuser wanted 12 years.

His defence asked for his acquittal, or if found guilty a one-year sentence plus 50,000 euros (£42,765) compensation for the victim.