Convicted rapist Dani Alves posts video training at Barcelona facilities | OneFootball

Former Brazil, Barcelona and Sevilla right-back Dani Alves surprised many on Thursday night by posting a video of himself training at Barcelona’s Sant Joan Despi training facilities. The 41-year-old is currently out on bail, as he awaits the appeal for a rape conviction.

Alves was sentenced in April of 2024 to spend 4.5 years in prison, but was released on bail following a €1m bond that he put up. The conditions of his temporary sentence also include a 1,000m restraining order from the victim, and €150k in damages, while a condition of his bail is the confiscation of his passports in order to reduce the flight risk.

Following 14 months in prison as he awaited trial, Alves was released, and the verdict for the appeal is not expected for a couple more months yet. If the appeal is not successful, he will return to serve the remainder of his sentence.

“!!It doesn’t matter what they say; the great stories are written by yourself and God!!!” wrote the Brazilian on his Twitter/X account, alongside a video of him training at the Ciutat Esportiva.

However Sport have explained that the video is old, and relates to some time ago, before his second spell at the club when he was a free agent and training alone at the facilities. They also assure that Alves is not currently, and has not been given permission to use the club’s training facilities.

Alves maintains his innocence, following an incident in the bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub on the 30th of December 2023, despite changing his testimony on multiple occasions, first claiming that he had never met the victim. Barcelona have faced criticism for maintaining Alves amongst their list of club legends, despite the rape conviction. He is currently living at one of his properties in the Catalan capital, and has been seen playing pick-up games of football.