Dani Alves lied to hide infidelity from wife, footballer’s lawyer says

Dani Alves’ new lawyer, Cristóbal Martell, on Friday paid his first visit to the footballer at the Brians II prison in Barcelona, where the Brazilian has been remanded in custody following allegations that he raped a woman in a nightclub bathroom in the Catalan capital.

After meeting with Alves, Martell told Spanish TV channel Antena 3 that the 39-year-old now offers a “solid, coherent” version of the events that took place at the Sutton nightclub on 30 December, and is remaining “calm”.

Alves feared “revealing in public that he’d been unfaithful”

Martell added that there have been changes to Alves’ story because he initially wanted to avoid “revealing in public that he’d been unfaithful to his wife”. Having first insisted that he had never met the 23-year-old woman who has accused him of rape, he later told investigators that the pair had consensual sex.

Alves’ spouse, the Spanish model Joana Sanz, has now moved to delete photos in which she and her husband appear together from her social-media profiles.

Martell also explained to Antena 3 that he is set to submit an appeal against a Spanish judge’s decision to hold Alves on remand without the possibility of bail. The footballer’s legal team do not see the player as a flight risk, as he voluntarily visited a Barcelona police station to give a statement on the accusations against him, and would have no problem handing over his passport.

Martell expects a ruling on the appeal within around three weeks.

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Alves doesn’t want family to visit him in prison

According to the lawyer, Alves’ family are eager to visit him in prison, but his client has asked them not to do so.

“He’d feel ashamed if they saw him there - he wants to protect them,” Martell told Antena 3. Alves’ mother and one of his siblings are currently in Barcelona, and his ex-wife and representative, Dinora Santana, is being kept abreast of the situation by his legal team.