A Barcelona court has given rape-convicted footballer Dani Alves a shock lifeline after he was handed a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
The Brazilian star was sentenced to four years and six months in jail on 22 February after he was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
However, earlier this week, the court approved that Alves can be released on bail, with his bond set at €1 million (R20.4 million), according to CNN.
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In a 13-page ruling on the bail, the court said that the fullback has already served 14 months behind bars after he was initially denied bail before his trial, as he was deemed a flight risk.
His pre-trial detention, which began in January 2023, was factored into the bail decision, with two of the three judges ruling in favour of the decision, while another is said to have opposed it.
The ruling also stipulates that the defender cannot get closer than one kilometre to the victim nor have any sort of communication with her.
One of the bail conditions also requires Alves to surrender his Spanish and Brazilian passports and report to the court on a weekly basis.
A report by Marca also suggests that the former FC Barcelona star could have been released soon after his bail was approved, but he failed to pay the amount before the deadline of that particular day.
The Spanish outlet further claimed that Neymar's father, Neymar da Silva Santos was expected to raise the money but didn't do so in time. However, Da Silva Santos has since released a statement saying he would not pay the bail on behalf of Alves. He said: "For us, for my family, this matter is over. Full stop."
Meanwhile, the state president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, slammed the decision to grant Alves bail, stating: "The money that Daniel Alves has , the money that someone can lend him, cannot buy the offense that a man does to a woman by committing rape.
"When sex is something done by two, it has to be allowed and consented by two. This, in fact, is a crime."
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