Former Brazilian football star Dani Alves, who was convicted of rape, is set to be released on bail of one million euros ($1.08 million) pending an appeal against his conviction, a Barcelona court announced on Wednesday.
Alves, a former international player for Brazil who played for clubs like Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, had been sentenced to four and a half years in prison following his conviction for raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
Despite opposition from public prosecutors who argued that he posed a flight risk, the court granted Alves provisional release on the condition that he pay the bail amount, surrender his passports, stay in Spain, and report to court weekly.
Alves’ lawyers swiftly appealed the conviction, disputing the victim’s account and claiming there was a mutual attraction between Alves and the victim. However, the court emphasized that the victim not giving explicit consent does not indicate agreement with what occurred.
The release comes after Alves spent a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest in January 2023.
