THE estranged wife of disgraced ex-Barcelona star Dani Alves has deactivated her Instagram account just hours after he was granted release from prison on bail.
Alves, convicted of raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub, yesterday won a fight to appeal his four-and-a-half-year jail sentence.
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Alves, 40, allegedly called on the father of his pal and fellow footballer Neymar to pay his €1million (£850,000) bail.
Neymar’s dad is not believed to have been able to gather the funds as yet, and the former Barcelona player remains behind bars.
Not 24 hours after a Barcelona court ruled in favour of granting Alves’ release – a decision which can be appealed – the sports star’s supermodel ex-wife Joana Sanz shut down her Instagram profile.
A search for Joana’s account returns the message: “Sorry, this page isn’t available.”
Alves’ lawyer requested that the disgraced footballer be released on the grounds that he already served a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention, after he was arrested in January last year.
It was decided he could be released, on conditions which include him relinquishing both his Brazilian and Spanish passports and appearing before the court on a weekly basis.
He is also not allowed to contact or be within a kilometre of his accuser.
Joana’s social media shut-down comes after she accidentally shared a bizarre letter from her rapist ex to her now-deactivated Instagram.
The letter, which Alves wrote in his cell as he awaited trial, contained pleas for forgiveness and expressions of thanks to Joana for supporting him through “such a difficult time”, Vogue reported.
Alves declared his love for Joana, writing that he loves her very much, that he will always be with her, and that they are stronger together.
Joana, who married Alves in July 2017, shared a picture of the love note to her then-active Instagram account in September with the caption: “Everyone knows, everyone knows, knows s***.”
Yesterday’s decision to release Alves on bail was blasted by the lawyer of the 23-year-old woman who Alves raped at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
Lawyer Ester Garcia fumed on RAC1 radio: “I’m very surprised and totally outraged… because it’s like this is justice for the rich.”
She added: “It is scandalous that they can free a person who they know can get hold of a million euros in a heartbeat.”
Sources close to Alves claimed he called on Neymar’s dad for help in paying the court-ordered €150,000 (£128,000) compensation to his victim, as well as for the money for his bail.
Alves’ own assets were frozen under a Brazilian court order related to his ex-wife Dinorah Santana.
The ex-Barcelona star was last month found guilty of raping a woman in the toilets of the nightclub Sutton on December 30, 2022.
Within hours of being handed a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence on February 22, it was revealed Alves would appeal the decision.
His lawyer Inés Guardiola said at the time: “Four and a half years is much better than nine and 12 that the accusation requested, but we are going to appeal because I still believe in Mr Alves’ innocence.
“We continue to believe in the innocence of Mr Alves. He already knows the sentence and is whole.
“We will defend his innocence to the end.”
State prosecutors were seeking a nine-year prison sentence; the lawyers representing Alves’s accuser were seeking 12.
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WHAT HAPPENED?
BRAZILIAN international footballer Dani Alves was accused of raping a woman in a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022.
In a trial held in Barcelona in February 2024, the footballer denied the allegations and said the encounter had been consensual.
Held at Barcelona’s Audiencia Provincial Court, the trial lasted three days and saw the victim, witnesses, and experts testify.
His accuser told the prosecution that she had willingly entered the bathroom with him, but that he forced her to stay after she wanted to leave.
In court she claimed that he was aggressive with her, slapping her and insulting her, and then forced her to have sex with him.
Following the trial, Alves was found guilty of raping the woman.
He was convicted on February 22 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years.
The court also ordered Alves to pay £130K (150,000 euros) in compensation to the victim.
The court said in a statement: “The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven.”
He had previously been held in pre-trial detention since his arrest on January 20, 2023.
Alves’ lawyers immediately appealed his sentence.
On March 20, 2024 – a Barcelona court released Alves on a bail of €1million (£850k) pending an appeal on his conviction.
His defense is seeking his acquittal while the prosecutor wants his prison sentence increased to nine years.
There is no date yet for the new trial at a higher court in Barcelona. It can then go to the Supreme Court in Madrid.
