Spanish court releases Brazilian player Dani Alves on $1.1m bail after rape conviction

A Spanish court granted the bail of former Barcelona player Dani Alves, who had been sentenced to four and a half years in prison on charges of rape, on appeal. Bail for his release was set at €1 million ($1.1 million).

According to local media, the Barcelona court decided unanimously to temporarily release the 40-year-old one day after his lawyer requested his release, on the condition that he does not leave Spain.

The player will also have to appear before the court every week until the final verdict is issued in the rape case. Both his Brazilian and Spanish passports have also been confiscated and a travel ban imposed on him.

Alves was sentenced on 22 February to four and a half years in prison, in addition to paying €150,000 ($163,500) to his victim, for raping a young woman in December 2022 at a nightclub in Barcelona. He was also banned from approaching the victim for nine and a half years.

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