April 18 – Dani Alves (pictured) has maintained his innocence over allegations of sexual assault, claiming he had consensual sex with the woman that accused him.
In January, the left-back was jailed without bail and in front of the judge he denied the allegations, changing his version of what happened in a Barcelona nightclub in late December.
“He assured he didn’t initially tell what had happened and denied the sexual contact because his only priority was to save his marriage,” said a statement from his lawyers.
“He said that everything that happened inside the restroom was a free and voluntary act. They made love and (she) didn’t say at any time to stop.”
In previous accounts, the Brazilian had denied that any sexual encounter with the woman had taken place. In an interview with Antena 3, he claimed that he did not know who the woman was. Catalonia’s Supreme Court had said in a previous statement that Alves was under investigation “for an alleged crime of sexual assault as a result of the complaint filed by a woman for events that allegedly occurred in a nightclub in Barcelona last month.”
Following his arrest his wife, model Joana Sanz, left Alves. The Brazilian was plying his trade at UNAM Pumas in Mexico after leaving Barcelona last summer.
He also had spells at Sevilla, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo. He is widely considered one of the best full backs of all time, with his trademark attacking and helping with the build-up play. He has won 43 titles during his career.
In December, he became the oldest Brazilian to feature in the World Cup at the age of 39. He played in Brazil’s final group-stage game against Cameroon. Alves and the five-time world champions exited the tournament in the quarterfinals following a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Croatia.
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