Dani Alves presented himself for detainment in Catalonia's Les Corts police station on Friday regarding allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona toward the end of 2022. The Brazil international is now to be questioned by a judge, according to a spokesperson for the regional Catalan police force Mossos d'Esquadra.
Alves, 39, played for Pumas UNAM in Mexico after a storied career which has included two spells with Barcelona, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Sevilla stints. On Friday, Pumas president Leopoldo Silva announced that they were terminating his contract "with just cause."
"Pumas confirms that it does not tolerate acts that violate its values," Silva said.
Anuncio a la afición universitaria y medios de comunicación por parte del Ing. Leopoldo Silva, presidente del Club Universidad Nacional.#SoyDePumas #OrigenDeLaPasión pic.twitter.com/FyaTdWEK6s
— PUMAS (@PumasMX) January 20, 2023
According to police, the Catalan authorities received a complaint regarding Alves on Jan. 2 from a woman who claimed that he had behaved inappropriately and touched her at popular Barcelona nightclub Sutton overnight from Dec. 30-31.
"I was there, at that place, with more people having fun," Alves told Antena three earlier this month. "Everybody knows I love to dance. Having a good time but without invading the space of others."
Alves had been training at Barcelona's facilities in the build-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and was on holiday post-World Cup in Qatar. He has denied all wrongdoing and claimed that he has "never seen" his accuser before.
Earlier this month, a Barcelona court confirmed that it had opened an investigation into "an alleged crime of sexual assault" which was the "result of a complaint filed by a woman against a soccer player."
Model Joana Sanz has publicly stated her support for her partner Alves as he made his statement against the allegations while a Spanish judge has reportedly ordered Alves to be jailed on remand.
