Dani Alves stripped of Barcelona legendary status after rape conviction

On February 22, Dani Alves was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for the rape of a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. As per The Guardian, The 40-year-old was also ordered to pay €9,000 (£7,700) for physical damage to the victim. Alves' lawyer Inés Guardiola has said they will appeal the verdict, with the former Brazil international having denied wrongdoing.

According to Diario AS, Barcelona have reacted to Alves' sentence by removing him from their official list of club legends. A total of 102 players are included on the list, including club founder Joan Gamper and Lionel Messi. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique were the most recent players to be inducted, with Alves' name no longer appearing in that section on the club's official website.

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. 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.