Former Brazil international Dani Alves said for the first time that he was drunk on the night he is accused of committing sexual assault, judicial sources have confirmed to news agency EFE.
If acknowledged as a mitigating factor during the upcoming court proceedings in February, it could potentially lead to a reduced sentence in the event of a conviction.
Alves’ attorney, Inés Guardiola, contends that the extent of Alves’ intoxication impaired his cognitive abilities, rendering him unaware of his actions.
This revelation marks the fifth alteration in Alves’ account since his arrest in January of the previous year on charges of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on December 30, 2022.
Initially, he claimed not to know the victim. Subsequently, he stated that he had encountered the woman in the club’s bathroom but maintained that nothing untoward had occurred.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain defender then changed his version of events upon being presented with biological evidence, asserting that the encounter involved consensual oral sex.
Last April, following additional biological tests, Alves, aged 40, admitted for the first time to having consensual intercourse with the woman. He explained that he had initially lied to conceal his infidelity to his wife.
Alves has been in preventive prison without bail since his arrest, leading to the termination of his contract with Liga MX club Pumas UNAM, which he joined after leaving Barcelona in June 2022.
The trial is set to take place from February 5 to 7 at a court in Barcelona, with state prosecutors seeking a nine-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, the woman’s legal representation is advocating for a 12-year prison term, along with restraining orders against Alves post-incarceration and a compensation payment of €150,000 ($163,605) to the woman.
Spain’s sexual consent law, enacted last year, encompasses a broad spectrum of offences, from online abuse and groping to rape, each carrying different potential penalties. The charge of sexual assault, under this law, can result in a maximum sentence of 15 years for cases of rape.