- Dani Alves was today handed a four-and-a-half year jail sentence
- He was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in a Barcelona nightclub
- His wife today posted a selfie moments after he was sentenced
Disgraced footballer Dani Alves has today been jailed for four-and-a-half years after being convicted of raping a woman at a Spanish nightclub.
The former Barcelona star, who has had a catastrophic fall from grace over the past two years, learnt his fate, this morning after being driven in a police van to the Barcelona court where he was tried earlier this month.
Throughout his trial, he faced an acrimonious split from his wife, 30-year-old model Joana Sanz.
After initially supporting her then husband, their relationship quickly deteriorated, ended with the runway model posting a triumphant selfie in the moments after he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars.
Here, MailOnline looks at the troubled relationship between Alves and Sanz, and how it quickly deteriorated as the disgraced footballer found himself in more and more legal trouble.
Two days after the assault in the toilet of Sutton, an upmarket nightclub in Barcelona, which took place on December 31 2022, Alves flew back to Mexico to play for his club.
Joana was at rock-bottom when her husband was arrested in Barcelona after travelling back to the city from Mexico. The model’s mother had died just a week before, and Alves, who was sacked by his club, had been taken into custody without bail.
But Sanz, who married Alves in Formentera off Ibiza in 2017 and gave birth to their two children, Daniel and Victoria, publicly stood by her then-husband, posting a photo of them holding hands with the message ‘Together’ in English.
She wrote in the caption of the post: ‘My mother died a week ago and I have barely begun to take on board that she is no longer with me for me to be tormented with the situation of my husband.
‘I have lost the only two pillars in my life.’
She also told local media at the time that her husband had never shown her a lack of respect, and that she had seen several women ‘trying it on’ with him in front of her.
Whether her public stance of solidarity was matched behind the scenes at the time is a mystery.
It was previously reported that Joanna, who has modelled for the likes of Jimmy Choo, YSL and L’Oriel since she was 17, wasn’t keen on the idea of marriage, and rejected two of Alves’ proposals.
Following weeks of speculation on the state of their marriage, she seemingly confirmed the split from the imprisoned footballer with a heart-wrenching letter in which she confessed that it would take ‘years to erase his way of looking at me from my memory.’
She headed the letter, written in her native Spanish – ‘in my own handwriting’ – said: ‘I would love for the lines written here to be about love and happiness, but it is not the case.
‘These have been horrible months, not the hardest of my life, because I have faced many storms, but very dark and painful.
‘The feeling of abandonment and loneliness knocks on my door again. Thousands of “why’s” with no answer. I chose as a life partner a person who in my eyes was perfect.
‘He was always there when I needed him the most, he always supported me in everything, he always pushed me to grow, always affectionate, attentive… It’s so hard for me to accept that this person could break me into a thousand pieces.
‘I think it’s going to take me years to erase from my memory his way of looking at me, that way he had of looking at me as if I were the most incredible thing in the world and damn, yes, I’m incredible.’
She went on: ‘I am incredible because I am hardworking, independent, intelligent, thoughtful, affectionate, funny, faithful and humane, and so human that despite the damage he has caused me, I am still here by his side.
‘I continue and will continue to be, but in another way.
‘I love him and I will always love him. Whoever says you forget love is either deceiving themselves or did not truly love. But I love myself, I respect myself and I value myself much more.
‘Forgiving alleviates, so I keep the magic and close a stage of my life that began on 18/5/15. I give thanks for the opportunities and learning that life gives me, no matter how difficult they are. Here is a strong woman moving on to the next stage of her life.’
Her emotional outpouring was seen at the time in Spain as a clear sign she has decided to end her relationship with Alves, although she didn’t name him in the letter or mention the word divorce.
For months after this letter, published in March 2023, the world heard little from the disgraced footballer, save for the multiple failed requests to be released on bail.
Judges in Barcelona’s high court were worried that the moment he was released, he escape justice and accountability by flying to Brazil, a nation he is a citizen of, and avoiding extradition.
Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.
Alves arguably had a history of being slippery. Originally, he claimed he had never met the woman he sexually assaulted.
But later, he changed his story, and claimed that while he did meet her, his encounter with her was entirely consensual and that no assault took place.
This was the first time he admitted to cheating on his wife. He told Spanish media in June 2023: ‘The only person I have to apologise to is my wife, Joana Sanz,’ he said.
‘The woman I married eight years ago, to whom I am still married, and with whom I hope to continue living all my life.
‘I have already apologised to her personally here in prison, but I must do it publicly, because the story is public, the offence is public and she deserves a public apology.
‘These have been, are being and will be very hard days for her. I thank her for everything she is doing for me. Her role is not easy. I love her and during this time in prison I have thought a lot about our marriage.
‘I am certain that I was not wrong to choose Joana as my wife. Although perhaps she did make a mistake with me.’
Earlier this month, speculation about the state of Alves’ and Sanz’s relationship grew out of control, after she was seen accompanying him to the courthouse at the start of his three-day rape trial.
Though it may have initially appeared that she was there to support him, she ended up testifying at his trial, telling the judge at the time that he stunk of alcohol when he arrived back at their home on the night of the attack.
And today, moments after he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars, she posted a triumphant selfie to her Instagram followers.
Despite the uncertainty in her life, with a husband behind bars and two children to raise on her own, the model was today seen sat on a woven seat with a satisfied smile on her face.
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