ALVES IS OUT

CONVICTED rapist Dani Alves paved the way for his release after stumping up the £850,000 bail he needed to be back in the comfort of his Spanish home.

Alves was silent as he walked out alongside his lawyer Ines Guardiola at around 4:25pm local time on Monday.

The disgraced ex footballer hopped straight into a car wearing jeans, and a black jacket over a white roll-neck jumper.

Despite only spending a few weeks in jail he was seen sporting a moustache as he left.

The footballer is also understood to have complied with the other orders of the three judges who said he could leave jail despite his recent rape conviction by handing in his Spanish and Brazilian passports.

He was told he could leave Brians 2 Prison near Barcelona last Wednesday after winning his bid to appeal his four-and-a-half year jail sentence from the comfort of his own home rather than a cell.

But the 40-year-old spent the weekend still locked up as he failed to find the cash to get free from the Spanish jail.

Brazilian teammate Neymar’s dad had been expected to help Alves pay the money to secure his freedom, but he issued a statement denying he would hand over any cash after coming under political pressure in his homeland.

The Brazilian had made several attempts before his conviction to get bail, but they were turned down partly on the basis he was a flight risk.

Alves is now set to live in the comfort of his £4million home in Esplugues de LLobregat — a 25-minute drive west of Barcelona — as his lawyers go through the appeal process, reports say.

The dad-of-two managed to pay his bail earlier on Monday.

A court spokesman said: “We inform you that Daniel Alves’ bail bond has been deposited in the account of the 21st section of the Barcelona Court of Appeal.”

Prosecutors have appealed the decision to release him on bail, but the appeal did not affect Monday’s release.

The 23-year-old victim’s lawyer, Ester Garcia, described Alves’ release as “scandalous”, branding it as “justice for the rich”.

International footballer Alves was accused of raping the woman in a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022.

Alves claimed the sexual encounter was consensual, insisting “he would never hurt anyone”.

He was found guilty of rape and sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars in February.

But on March 20, 2024 a court ruled he could appeal his conviction and get out of his hellhole jail while his team, headed by Ines Guardiola, carried out the appeal.

His bail was set at his €1million (£850,000) — a figure originally thought to be getting paid for by pal Neymar Jr’s father, say LaVanguardia.

Neymar da Silva Santos Sr had been expected to help Alves pay the money to secure his freedom, but he issued a statement denying he would hand over any cash after coming under political pressure in his homeland.

He said: “For us, for my family, this matter is over. Full stop.”

Neymar’s father didn’t specify how much they gave Alves but added that it’s a “different situation” now because the three judge panel at the Barcelona Provincial Court ruled against him.

“With the Spanish court ruling for his conviction, there’s speculation and an attempt to associate my name and my son’s to a matter that is not within our reach any longer,” Neymar’s father said in the family’s statement.

He added that he hopes Alves “can find all the answers he looks for in his own family.”

Alves’ team requested that the disgraced full back was released as he had already served a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest in January 2023.

Garcia blasted the decision to let him walk out as she fumed on RAC1 radio: “I’m very surprised and totally outraged... because it’s like this is justice for the rich.”

Before adding: “It is scandalous that they can free a person who they know can get hold of a million euros in a heartbeat.”

The bail conditions set by the court say Alves must stay at least 1,000m away from the home of the victim or any other place she frequently goes.

He is also banned from ever contacting her and must handover his Brazilian and Spanish passports.

The court feared Alves could leave Spain and travel to his native Brazil to try and avoid serving anymore jail time.

He will now return to his multimillion-pound home a short drive from Barcelona.

It was built in 2010 when he was still married to his ex-wife Dinorah Santana before he met and married Tenerife-born model Joana Sanz.

Sanz revealed last year she had demanded a divorce after Alves admitted for the first time to having sex with the woman he was found guilty of raping, but claimed as he still does that the relations were consensual. —