Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves has been released from prison after Memphis Depay, his teammate, paid a €1 million bail. Alves, who was convicted of rape on February 22 following a trial earlier that month, had spent over a year in prison since January 20 last year. As a condition of his bail, Alves must also appear in court once a week to maintain his liberty.
The 40-year-old Brazilian, a father of two, was granted bail by three judges on the condition that he surrender his Spanish and Brazilian passports. He is set to spend his first night of freedom at his £4 million mansion in Esplugues de Llobregat, just west of Barcelona’s city center.
Alves was freed just before the expected time of around 5 pm local time. As part of his bail conditions, he must visit the court once a week to maintain his freedom.
Despite winning his appeal to serve his sentence from home, Alves remained behind bars over the weekend due to his failure to secure the bail bond. His lawyer, Ines Guardiola, revealed that he had financial difficulties, with one bank account holding no balance and another with a judicial seizure.
However, Alves is expected to receive €9.2 million after winning four cases against Spain’s tax agency. Although he was set to receive a significant sum from the treasury, the funds have not yet been received.
It was initially anticipated that Neymar’s father would assist Alves in paying the bail, but he later issued a statement denying any financial involvement due to political pressure in Brazil.
Alves’ conviction stems from an incident at an upscale Barcelona nightclub, where he was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in the club’s toilet. Despite the conviction, Alves maintains that the encounter was consensual.
