Barcelona and Brazil football icon Dani Alves has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual assault.
The right-back is considered one of the best players of his generation, having won 43 trophies during his career.
However, Alves will now spend time behind bars after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.
He was also ordered to pay €150,000 to the victim.
Dani Alves: Barcelona and Brazil icon has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual assault
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A judge has also given Alves a nine-and-a-half-year restraining order. When he is released, he will need to complete five years' worth of probation.
Alves was accused of raping a woman in the bathroom of the Sutton nightclub's VIP section in Barcelona in the early hours of 31 December 2022.
He was arrested three weeks after the incident and detained ever since, while accused of 'sexual assault with penetration'.
Prosecutors called for a nine-year prison term for Alves, along with 10 years of probation.
They also wanted him to pay €150,000 in compensation to the victim, which has now been ordered by the court.
Alves denied any wrongdoing during the trial and the courts' decision can be appealed.
He said last week: "If she wanted to leave, she could have left, she was not obligated to be there."
He also told the court that at "no time" had the victim asked to leave.
Furthermore, Alves denied hitting the woman and grabbing her hair - insisting he was "not a violent man" during his 20-minute appearance on the stand.
The Brazil and Barcelona icon had requests for bail denied, with the court considering him to be a flight risk.
Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.
Alves' accuser told the prosecution that while she had willingly entered the bathroom of the club with the footballer, he had forced her to stay against her will.
On the first day of his trial, a friend and cousin of his accuser claimed he had also groped them in the VIP area of the club.
Judges said his alleged victim's version of events was coherent, while also claiming Alves had changed his story several times.
Last June, when addressing the claims, Alves said the only person who needed to forgive him was his wife, Joana Sanz.
Dani Alves denied any wrongdoing with the Barcelona and Brazil icon insisting he did nothing wrong during the trial
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“The only person I have to ask for forgiveness is my wife, Joana Sanz," he said at the time.
As a player, Alves started his career with Bahia in Brazil before joining Sevilla in 2002.
He would spend six years with the LaLiga side before earning a move to Barcelona.
Alves won the treble during his first year at the Nou Camp while playing under Pep Guardiola, with the defender making 54 appearances during his first season.
He would spend eight more years with Barcelona, while he also returned to the Nou Camp for a second stint in 2021.
Dani Alves had spells with the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Sevilla during his career
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Alves has also had spells with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo.
He featured 126 times for the Brazil national team, scoring eight goals along the way, with only Cafu playing for the country on more occasions.
