Dani Alves has spoken for the first time since leaving prison, ensuring that he has “adapted” well to prison and that he is capable of “surviving” wherever he goes.
The embarrassed footballer, who has appealed a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape, was released last week.
The 40-year-old paid €1m (£850,000) bail to be released, with reports claiming it was financed by a Brazilian magazine in exchange for an interview.
However, Alves reportedly spoke to Spanish media outlet El Periódico about having to attend court every Friday as part of his bail deal.
When asked what life on bail was like, Alves said The newspaper: ‘It’s what I have to do. Every Friday I go to court and that’s it. I don’t have much else to do either.
Alves was released from prison after appealing a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence after being found guilty of rape last month.
The 40-year-old paid €1m (£850,000) bail to be released, with reports claiming it was financed by a Brazilian magazine in exchange for an interview.
Alves avoided commenting on specific details of his case, but joked about the judicial process.
Alves said: ‘The game I have to play is on the pitch.’ He also acknowledged that he has “no idea” how long the court process could take.
However, Alves is confident he can survive whatever challenge comes his way and insisted he has what it takes to get out of prison.
When asked to comment on his prison experience so far (having been incarcerated for the past 14 months), Alves said: “Wherever I go, I survive.”
‘I adapt to everything because for me it is not the place that makes the person, but the person who makes the place.’
The interview would have taken place before Alves went to the exclusive Mr. Porter restaurant, located on the ground floor of the Hotel Sir Víctor – according to Maryland.
According to MD, Alves was wearing a white T-shirt and baggy sweatpants while sitting at the table next to his friend Bruno Brasil.
However, Alves took to Instagram shortly after the interview with El Periódico was published to say: “It is not true that I have granted any interview to any media outlet, nor will I grant one until the judicial process is resolved.”
The former footballer has returned to his £4.5m villa in the Esplugues de Llobregat district
Dani Alves appears to have reconciled with his wife Joana Sanz, 31, (pictured on vacation a few years ago) after being released from prison.
Álves, who has appealed a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape last month, was released on €1m (£850,000) bail.
Spanish journalist Marisa Martín Blázquez, in Fiesta (Telecinco), reported that a Brazilian magazine paid bail to Alves in exchange for an interview.
Blázquez said the Alves would have been asked to ask his model wife, Joana Sanz, to appear as part of the interview.
“The magazine, known in Brazil, does excellent reports on important people in Brazil, but also internationally,” said Blázquez. ‘There are a series of requirements that must be met.
‘An interview would be being conducted as a video report on Alves’s story and, in addition, Alves would have asked Joana Sanz to participate in this report.
‘(The payment) would have been an advance as payment for that documentary-type interview that is being done.’
Sanz revealed last year that he had demanded a divorce after Alves admitted for the first time to having had sexual relations with the woman he was convicted of raping, but claimed, as he still does, that the relations were consensual.
The 31-year-old brunette later said the divorce had been put on hold and gave evidence on Alves’ behalf at his Feb. 5-7 trial.
Alves is on provisional release and will normally attend court hearings on Friday.
The former Barcelona player was released from Brians 2 prison a week ago after spending 15 months behind bars awaiting trial for raping a woman in December 2022.
The 40-year-old was found guilty in February of this year and sentenced to four and a half years in prison, but Alves is in the process of appealing the verdict, and will do so from his own home after accepting a series of conditions imposed by the court.
Alves has renounced his Spanish and Brazilian passports and will have mandatory court visits once a week to maintain his freedom, after first paying bail of €1m (£850,000).
But after doing so, the disgraced player wanted to make the most of life outside prison walls and is believed to have celebrated his father’s recent birthday in some style.
According to the Spanish television program ‘Esto es Vida’, the day after his release, Alves received his family and friends at his home in Esplugues de Llobregat after having attended a dinner in Barcelona in honor of patriarch Domingos Alves Da Silva. without him.
After dinner, the group headed to Alves’ £4.5 million villa, and it is believed the festivities will continue until five in the morning.
The former defender could have been released earlier if he had not had difficulties finding the money to pay his high bail.
Alves’ lawyer, Inés Guardiola, has said that the Brazilian has two bank accounts in Spain, one with no balance and another with 51,000 euros (£44,000), with a judicial seizure of 50,000 euros (£43,000).
Guardiola claimed last year that his client “is bankrupt” and has a “negative bank balance of £17,000”, despite reportedly once having a fortune of £47m.
Sport reported that Alves’ accounts in Brazil have also been blocked due to issues with his ex-wife Dinorah Santana.
However, Alves is expected to receive €9.2m (£7.9m) after his tax lawyer Fernando Mota won four cases against the Spanish tax agency.
At Alves’ bail hearing it was noted that the 40-year-old was set to receive “a large sum of money” from the treasury, but has not yet received the funds.
The father of fellow Brazilian Neymar was expected to help Alves pay the money to secure his freedom, but issued a statement denying he would hand over cash after coming under political pressure in his home country.
Memphis Depay’s agent was forced to deny “false” claims on social media that the Atletico Madrid player had been the one to provide Alves with the money needed to gain his temporary freedom on Tuesday.
‘This is fake news. “It’s fake news, it’s not true at all,” Sébastien Ledure told Informativos Telecinco.
Ledure also asked to “correct at an official level” the statement, after it spread on social media on Monday.
Alves was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in the bathroom of an exclusive Barcelona nightclub, Sutton, more than a year and a half ago.
His lawyer, Inés Guardiola, has previously stated that he is “bankrupt” and has a “negative balance.”
Alves was found guilty of rape and sentenced to four and a half years in prison in Spain
The prison sentence he received, considered lenient by some critics, was much less than the nine years prosecutors demanded and the 12 years Alves’ accuser wanted if he was convicted.
The footballer’s previous attempts to obtain bail had been rejected by the courts largely because he was seen as a potential fight risk, and the player’s home country, Brazil, does not extradite citizens sentenced abroad.
His ex-wife Santana is among those who have spoken out against Alves being granted bail.
‘There are times when you will have to share the table with Judas, without that taking away your peace. Well me today,” she wrote on Instagram.
Santana, the mother of his two children, initially said she supported him and insisted he would never commit the crime for which he was arrested.
The sports agent later claimed she felt “used” and told Spanish television: “For me, he doesn’t exist.” For me he is dead.’