The Barcelona Court has sentenced Dani Alves to four and a half years in prison for rape. A sentence that conflicts with the request of the prosecution (9 years) and that of the prosecution (12 years). Once the sentence is final, the Brazilian will be able to request prison permits. Therefore, in a few months we could see the player released from prison, having already been behind bars for a year.
And although it has been a more favorable sentence than expected for Alves, if one thing is clear, it is that he has had to leave many things behind during these months. Not only a successful professional career, but a family that has believed in his innocence from the first moment.
This has meant the withdrawal of Alves from the playing field, where he has been a professional since 2001. Bahia, Seville, F. C. Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint Germain, Sao Paolo... have been some of the teams for which What the Brazilian has gone through. But his career has been ended forever after committing the crime that has kept him in prison since January 20, 2023.
News that has been a hard blow for the footballer's family, who have been hopeful throughout the process. The defender was born in Juazeiro (Brazil) into a humble family. Along with his four brothers, his mother, and his farmer father, Dani grew up surrounded by the countryside. Therefore, it is not surprising that one of the things that he will endure the worst is being away from them.
Lucía Alves, his mother, has shown herself broken on more than one occasion, but "trusting in God" so that her son would be acquitted. "I wouldn't wish it on any mother in the world," she said a few weeks ago about the judicial process when she traveled to Barcelona to try to be close to her son. However, the evidence provided by the victim and the various testimonies have ended up proving the player's guilt. Although it is possible that he could see it sooner than expected given the low sentence.
But several more pieces play on this board, among them, one of Dani's brothers, Ney Alves. "January 20, 2023. The day the world fell upside down and even without understanding, I trust in you, God, only in you," said the Brazilian in one of his numerous defenses through social networks. And if this situation has shown anything, it is that family love makes us cling to even the slightest hope.
And if there is someone who is missing from a distance, it is Joana Sanz, whom he met in Barcelona thanks to some mutual friends, and whom he married in 2017. The Canarian model represented an important change in the player's life, and despite the fact that divorce was put on the table when everything broke out, it seems that he is clear that he will remain by her side.
"What I dreamed of and what I continue to dream of: I want to take all the paths with you. I was not in the wrong woman... Yes, it was you. Yes, it is you and it will always be you," wrote Dani Alves in a letter addressed to his wife seeing his defense during these last few months.
Joana, for her part, did not hesitate to speak out when all this came to light. "I know who my husband is (...). I know how respectful he is because even when he was getting to know me he did not disrespect me. I have seen many times how women approach the booth, daring, to try something with my husband in my face," the model wrote on her social networks. However, the judge's ruling has ruled otherwise.
But these are not the only people Alves has had to say goodbye to during this process. As a result of his first marriage to Dinorah Santana, in 2008, Victoria Alves and Daniel Alves Jr. were born, his only two children. Now, we just have to wait for the resources of the player's lawyer and the final ruling of the court to see what the footballer's future will be.
