Footballer Dani Alves has been remanded without bail after being accused of sexually abusing a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona in December.
Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has been detained on remand at a Barcelona prison over accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a nightclub in the city at the end of December.
“Numerous contradictions” in Alves police statement
On Friday, having returned to Spain from Mexico - where he has been playing his club football - Alves gave a voluntary statement to police in the Catalan capital. However, he offered a version of events that is said to have had “numerous contradictions”, leading a Spanish judge to order his provisional detention, without the possibility of bail.
It is clear from this ruling that Alves was deemed a flight risk.
Financial means, lack of Spanish roots
Firstly, because the 39-year-old - who on Friday had his contract terminated by Liga MX club Pumas - has the financial means to leave Spain. According to the specialist website Celebrity Net Worth, he has a net worth amounting to some $60 million.
What’s more, Alves spent more than 10 years in Spain, playing Sevilla and Barcelona, but he doesn’t have strong roots in the country that could dissuade him from fleeing. His most significant link to Spain is his wife, model Joana Sanz, who is from the Canary Islands.