Brazilian soccer legend Dani Alves has been arrested in Spain on sexual assault charges and has been denied bail.
Alves, 39, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a nightclub in Barcelona in December.
Alves was taken into custody after he answered a police summons. State prosecutors had asked for him to be held without bail, and a judge agreed after charging him with sexual assault following several hours of testimony.
The initial investigation was launched earlier this month. Alves has denied any wrongdoing.
A charge of sexual assault in Spain can mean anything from unsolicited and unwanted sexual groping to rape. Police said they could not give any details on the case.
The Pumas UNAM player returned to Spain from Mexico this week to face the charges. He presented himself at a local police station in Barcelona on Friday and was then taken to the Ciutat de la Justicia by officers pending examination by the judge.
Alves denied the allegations last week in a video he sent to Spanish television channel Antena 3. While acknowledging he had been at the club, he said he did not know the woman and added “I have never invaded the personal space of anyone.”
“I would like to deny everything, first,” Alves said. “I was there, in that location, with more people, having a good time. Everybody knows that I love to dance. Having a good time, but without invading the space of others
“I’m very sorry, but I don’t know who that young lady is, I don’t know who she is, I’ve never seen her in my life.”
According to La Vanguardia newspaper, the 23-year-old notified the nightclub managers and they contacted the police. The police then transferred the alleged victim to Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic, a referral hospital for treating sexual abuse cases. Two days after the alleged rape, the young woman reported the former player to the authorities.
The 39-year-old Alves is one of soccer’s most successful players, winning major titles with several elite clubs, including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, over his long career.
