Soccer star Dani Alves sentenced to four and a half years in prison for rape

Dani Alves, a 40-year-old former professional soccer player, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in the toilets of a Barcelona nightclub in late 2022. The exact sentence varies among different sources, with some reporting a five-year probation and others reporting a four and a half year prison sentence. Prosecutors had called for a nine-year jail sentence. Alves testified that the encounter was consensual but was found to have fallen under the absence of consent. He has also been ordered to pay compensation to the victim, with amounts ranging from €150,000 to €162,000.