Dani Alves has lost his iconic player status at Barcelona after being convicted of sexual assault.
Dani Alves was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
He was also ordered to pay €9,000 for physical damages to the victim.
Alves denies the charges and plans to appeal the verdict.
Barcelona has reacted by removing Alves from their list of club legends, which includes 102 players such as Lionel Messi.
Alves’ name no longer appears on the club’s official website among the list of legendary players.
Alves made 408 appearances for Barcelona across two spells with the Spanish giants, and won six league titles and three Champions League crowns among a whole host of other trophies.
The former full-back also played for Sevilla, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, while winning 126 caps for Brazil at international level.
Dani Alves was on the books of Mexican club PUMAS when he was initially arrested in January 2023, and his contract was immediately terminated.
The prosecution had asked for a nine-year jail sentence for Alves, and the victim’s legal team were demanding 12 – as per The Guardian.
Alves’s final sentence only just exceeded the minimum of four years, and he could soon be released on licence, having already served 12 months on remand.
