Dani Alves found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail

Dani Alves has been handed a four-and-a-half year prison sentence after a Spanish court found him guilty of sexual assault.

The former Brazil right-back was accused of 'sexual assault by penetration' at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. Prosecutors had demanded a nine-year prison sentence plus ten years of probation and €150,000 in compensation.

Alves was jailed in a Barcelona prison without bail in January 2023. His testimony changed numerous times over the course of interrogation and the trial, initially claiming he did not know the victim before claiming they had consensual sex and admitting fear his wife would leave him due to these allegations.

The victim's version of events remained the same and Alves was found guilty on by Spanish authorities on Thursday.

Alves is Brazil's third-most capped player in history with 126 appearances - only Neymar (128) and Cafu (142) have featured more for the Selecao. The 40-year-old was most recently on the books of Mexican side UNAM, but the club ended his contract after his initial arrest in January 2023, bringing an end to his professional career.

He made 910 senior club appearances across spells for Bahia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and UNAM, scoring 67 goals.