Back in the day, Dani Alves was one of the best players in the world, regardless of his position. However, his glory days at FC Barcelona are far behind him, and now he's making headlines for extremely different and controversial reasons.
On Friday, Spanish news agency EFE reported the 39-year-old Pumas UNAM defender has been held in custody without bail by a Spanish judge after being charged with sexual assault.
Alves flew to Spain from Mexico this week to testify in trial. After hearing testimony from both Alves and the alleged victim, the judge granted the prosecutor's request to arrest Alves without bail.
What is Dani Alves being accused of?
Dani Alves is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a bathroom of the nightclub Sutton in Barcelona on December 30, 2022. The alleged victim first filed a report to the police on January 2, claiming that Alves touched her under her clothes without consent.
The investigation was launched earlier this month, with the former Juventus star showing up at a local police stadium in Barcelona this week to face the charges. A few weeks ago, Alves had firmly denied the accusations in an interview with Antena 3, saying he doesn't even know the woman.
"I would like to deny everything, first," Alves said, via ESPN. "I was there, in that location, with more people, having a good time. Everybody knows that I love to dance. Having a good time, but without invading the space of others. I'm very sorry, but I don't know who that young lady is, I don't know who she is, I've never seen her in my life."
Alves, who joined Mexican side Pumas in the summer after running out of contract with FC Barcelona, spent a few days in Barcelona after playing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Brazil.
