HOUSE CALL
Dani Alves’ ex-wife Joana Sanz ‘visits disgraced rapist Barcelona star at his £4.5million mansion after prison release’
Alves has unfollowed everyone on Instagram, including Neymar and his ex Joana
DISGRACED ex-Barcelona star Dani Alves has reportedly received a visit from his ex-partner just days after he released from prison.
The former footballer's estranged wife Joana Sanz went to see him at his home in Barcelona, according to Spanish media.
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Alves, convicted of raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub, won a fight to appeal his four-and-a-half-year jail sentence this month and was granted release from prison on bail last week.
Within 24 hours, supermodel Joana, 31, had deactivated her Instagram account.
Her Instagram profile is now back up and running, but she no longer follows Alves and has wiped her account of all pictures of him.
Spanish program Fiesta, on Telecinco, has now Joana visited her ex at his home in Barcelona following his release from prison.
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The convicted rapist, 40, left Brians 2 Prison on Monday, having served just four weeks behind bars and managing to stump up the €1million (£850,000) cash he needed to make bail.
He was silent as he walked out of the prison alongside his lawyer Ines Guardiola - past protesters holding signs - and straight into a car.
Local reports said he left a bible, a fan, and a box of books at the prison for his former fellow innmates.
Alves reportedly celebrated his first hours of freedom with an all-night party at his £4.5million mansion, which he still owns with Joana.
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Soon after Alves returned to the property, a bouquet of flowers was delivered to the address.
Some speculated the bouquet could have been a gift for the Tenerife-born brunette.
A housekeeper appeared at the door of Alves' mansion in Esplugues de Llobregat, a 25-minute drive west of Barcelona city centre, in the evening to receive some hamburgers Alves ordered for dinner.
The ex-footballer has unfollowed all of the 1,376 people he once followed on Instagram, including his pal and fellow footballer Neymar and his ex-wife Joana.
As of Saturday, he has 36.5 million followers, and follows no one.
Despite winning the fight to appeal his sentence from the comfort of his own home, Alves will still need to appear at court once a week.
He was also required to hand in his Spanish and Brazilian passports, so he cannot flee Spain.
Rumours are swirling about how the former footballer managed to find the funds necessary to secure his bail.
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Some say his former teammates could have put the money together.
It was also alleged that Alves called on Neymar's father to pay his bail.
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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 in prison.
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.
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