Revealed: The surprising source of Dani Alves' €1m bail payment as ex-Barcelona defender leaves prison following rape conviction

After 13 months in jail, the Brazilian former defender was released on Monday after paying the necessary fee. Alves faces a a four-and-a-half year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape, but was allowed to bail himself out while he appeals the conviction.

With his funds tied up, the ex-Barcelona star was expected to struggle to match the figure, but Spanish journalist Marisa Martin Blazquez has told Fiesta that a Brazilian magazine agreed to bail him out in exchange for an interview with him. The agreement, the journalist claims, comes with a number of terms, including the interview being made as a video report, while his ex-wife Joana Sanz will also have to be involved.

Before his bail was paid, it had been claimed that former Brazil team-mate Neymar's father would give Alves the money, but he issued a statement denying such reports. After his release, Alves is said to have held a lavish party at his home in Catalonia.

The 40-year-old will appeal against his conviction in order to avoid serving the prison term he has been sentenced to. He was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.