Barcelona revoke Dani Alves' official club legend status after he was found guilty of rape in a Spanish nightclub... and sentenced to four years and six months behind bars
- Barcelona have removed Dani Alves from their official list of club legends
- Alves will spend four years and six months in jail after being convicted of rape
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Barcelona have withdrawn Dani Alves from their official list of club legends after his conviction for rape.
Alves was jailed for four and a half years last week after being found guilty of rape in a Barcelona nightclub bathroom.
The disgraced former player won 23 trophies with Barcelona but no longer stands in their pantheon of legends, which honours 102 heroes from down the years.
Residents in his native Brazilian state of Bahia have called for his statue in Juazeiro - which has already been vandalised - to be removed.
Formerly a common name in all-time best XIs for Barca, the horrific crime which has seen him imprisoned has left people wishing to erase his name from the club's collective memory.
![Barcelona have revoked Dani Alves' legend status after he was found guilty of rape last week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81761139-13130117-image-a-6_1709022106361.jpg)
Barcelona have revoked Dani Alves' legend status after he was found guilty of rape last week
![Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in jail after being convicted of raping a woman at a Spanish nightclub in 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81569761-13130117-Prosecutors_had_been_pushing_for_a_12_year_sentence_for_the_40_y-a-8_1709022150498.jpg)
Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in jail after being convicted of raping a woman at a Spanish nightclub in 2022
Barca have not yet issued a statement on the removal of Alves from their litany of legendary players.
That selection includes many of his former team-mates including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and current manager Xavi.
Alves arrived in Barcelona in 2008 and would stay until 2016, scooping up every trophy available to him.
That included six LaLiga titles and three Champions League crowns. He was also named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times during his stint with the Spanish giants as he became the foremost right-back in world football.
Only Messi can surpass the 43 titles which Alves won throughout a storied career.
The 40-year-old was a world away from that glory on Thursday when he learned of his fate as a convicted sex offender.
He had been held on remand at Brians 2 Prison near the Catalan capital since his arrest in January last year.
Alves, whose lawyer Ines Guardiola confirmed she would appeal, protested his innocence on February 7 after taking the stand on the last day of his three-day trial at Barcelona's Audiencia Provincial court.
![Alves (right) won 23 trophies with Barca and was, for many, their greatest right-back ever](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81761105-13130117-image-a-9_1709022199697.jpg)
Alves (right) won 23 trophies with Barca and was, for many, their greatest right-back ever
![There is now an effort to remove him from the club's memory following his disgrace](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81569573-13130117-Former_Barcelona_defender_Dani_Alves_has_been_sentenced_to_four_-a-10_1709022238418.jpg)
There is now an effort to remove him from the club's memory following his disgrace
![Residents in his native Brazilian state of Bahia are calling for his vandalised statue to be removed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81693669-13130117-Bahia_residents_are_demanding_for_the_vandalised_statue_of_Dani_-a-11_1709022324958.jpg)
Residents in his native Brazilian state of Bahia are calling for his vandalised statue to be removed
Lawyer Guardiola said: 'We are going to appeal the sentence and I still believe in the innocence of Mr Alves. He's doing okay.'
Alves claimed he had consensual sex in a toilet at upmarket Barcelona nightclub Sutton in the early hours of December 31, 2022 with his 23-year-old female accuser.
The woman he was found guilty of raping insisted the footballer had forced himself on her after hitting her when she gave her evidence in court behind a screen.
State prosecutors wanted him jailed for nine years and a lawyer acting for his victim had demanded he was caged for 12 years if convicted.
As well as prison and the £128,000 (€150,000) damages payment, Alves was given a further five years parole and a nine-and-a-half year restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim or going near her.
Alves claimed before his arrest he had never met his female accuser but ended up backtracking after being held.
![Alves was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times while at Barcelona but he has ruined his reputation](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81761099-13130117-image-a-13_1709022450822.jpg)
Alves was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times while at Barcelona but he has ruined his reputation
![He had admitted to cheating on his wife, Joana Sanz (pictured), but insists he had consensual sex with his accuser](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81570497-13130117-He_had_admitted_to_cheating_on_his_wife_Joana_Sanz_pictured_but_-a-14_1709022500965.jpg)
![Reports claimed the model filed for divorce from Alves last year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81570561-13130117-Reports_claimed_the_model_filed_for_divorce_from_Alves_last_year-a-15_1709022500969.jpg)
He had admitted to cheating on his wife, Joana Sanz (pictured), who has reportedly filed for divorce, but insists he had consensual sex with his accuser
![Police and security officials close the door behind them before Alves was handed his sentence in Barcelona](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/27/08/81570851-13130117-Police_and_security_officials_close_the_door_behind_them_before_-a-21_1709022554703.jpg)
Police and security officials close the door behind them before Alves was handed his sentence in Barcelona
In an exclusive interview from his prison last June with a Spanish TV reporter, he claimed: 'The only person I have to ask for forgiveness is my wife.'
Police were called to Sutton nightclub moments after Alves left with a male friend when his rape victim and two women she was with alerted security.
A friend with her the night of the sex attack told the trial judges earlier this month her pal was 'crying uncontrollably' after leaving the toilet and said Alves had 'really hurt her.'
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