Former Barcelona defender, Dani Alves, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a lady in a nightclub in 2022.
Catalonia’s top court on Thursday sentenced him to four and a half years in prison.
The court also ordered that Alves pay €150,000 to the victim.
“The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven,” the court said in a statement.
Alves insisted the sex was consensual.
After the verdict, his lawyers told reporters that he intends to appeal the sentence.
The 40-year-old was first arrested in January 2023, after the incident happened in the early hours of December 31, 2022.
