FORMER BRAZIL and Barcelona footballer Dani Alves has been found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in 2022.

A Spanish court today sentenced Alves to four and a half years in prison.

Alves, 40, had denied any wrongdoing during a trial that took place over three days this month.

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

“The victim did not consent and there is evidence that, beyond the complainant’s testimony, permits the rape to be considered proven,” the Barcelona court wrote in a statement.

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

His defence asked for his acquittal, or if found guilty a one-year sentence plus €50,000 compensation for the victim.

Alves has been in jail since being detained on 20 January, 2023.

His requests for bail were denied because the court considered him a flight risk because Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.

Dani Alves last played for Mexican club Pumas, but the side terminated his contract last January when he was arrested Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Alves last played for Mexican side Pumas, signing with the club in July 2022.

However, the club terminated his contract after he was arrested in Spain over the 2022 sexual assault.

-With additional reporting from Press Association