DISGRACED footballer Dani Alves is hoping for a shocking football comeback after boasting about “surviving” his jail stint, it has been claimed.
The former Barcelona star spent just four weeks of his sentence behind bars after a rape conviction – stumping up £850k to be released on bail.
Convicted rapist Alves hopes to be acquitted and restore his public image, eventually making a shocking comeback to the sport, El Pais reports.
Spanish journalist Jesus Garcia Bueno, who has covered the case extensively, claims that he doesn’t expect to return as a player on the field itself.
He was freed from prison near Barcelona in March on bail after serving a few weeks of his four-and-a-half year sentence.
Alves is reportedly spending most of his time hunkering down in his £4m Spanish home with estranged wife Joana Sanz.
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But the former footballer did recently visit a high-end Barcelona hotel, enjoying wagyu beef steak with a friend, El Periodico reports.
The pair reportedly dined on a variety of expensive dishes from the steakhouse restaurant as Alves spoke to press about his parole terms.
Alves told a reporter he has to “play a game” in court during weekly appearances while on bail.
He said: “It’s what I have to do. Every Friday I go to court and that’s it. I don’t have much else to do either.
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“The game I have to play is in the courts.”
The 40-year-old also boasted about his experience in prison, saying “Wherever I go I survive”.
“I adapt to everything because for me it is not the place that makes the person, but the person that makes the place,” he went on.
Struggling financially since losing his income and hefty sponsorship, the shamed footballer does not expect football clubs or companies to return even if he is acquitted, El Pais reports.
It is not clear exactly in what role he plans to return to the world of professional football.
The Brazilian had made several attempts before his conviction to get bail, but they were turned down in part because he was deemed a flight risk.
Days of speculation preceded his release from jail over where the money was going to come from.
Despite earning over £45million across his successful career, Alves had his bank accounts frozen when he was sat in his jail cell meaning he couldn’t fund his own release.
Just hours after the disgraced star was released he hosted an all-night party at his £4.5m mansion in Esplugues de LLobregat – a 25-minute drive west of Barcelona.
Days later, Spanish media reported that supermodel Sanz had already paid Alves a visit.
Following reports that their marriage was over, Sanz shared a picture of the pair holding hands with matching tattoos to her Instagram last week.
Alves, once a serial winner on the football pitch with 44 medals to his name, was arrested by Catalan police in January 2023 and spent over a year behind bars afterwards.
He was this year convicted of raping a 23-year-old woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
The victim accused Alves of forcing her to have sex in a private bathroom of the club despite begging him to let her go.
He has constantly denied the allegations and insisted the sexual encounter was consensual.
The bail conditions set out by court say Alves must stay at least 1,000m away from the home of the victim or any other place she frequently goes.
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He is also banned from ever contacting her and must handover his Brazilian and Spanish passports.
Dani Alves rape case: What happened?
BRAZILIAN international footballer Dani Alves was accused of raping a woman in a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022.
In a trial held in Barcelona in February 2024, the footballer denied the allegations and said the encounter had been consensual.
Held at Barcelona’s Audiencia Provincial Court, the trial lasted three days and saw the victim, witnesses, and experts testify.
His accuser told the prosecution that she had willingly entered the bathroom with him, but that he forced her to stay after she wanted to leave.
In court she claimed that he was aggressive with her, slapping her and insulting her, and then forced her to have sex with him.
Following the trial, Alves was found guilty of raping the woman.
He was convicted on February 22 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
The court also ordered Alves to pay £130K (150,000 euros) in compensation to the victim.
The court said in a statement: “The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven.”
He had previously been held in pre-trial detention since his arrest on January 20, 2023.
Alves’ lawyers immediately appealed his sentence.
On March 20, 2024 – a Barcelona court released Alves on a bail of €1million (£850k) pending an appeal on his conviction.
His defense is seeking his acquittal while the prosecutor wants his prison sentence increased to nine years.
There is no date yet for the new trial at a higher court in Barcelona. It can then go to the Supreme Court in Madrid.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
