Earlier this week, Dani Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, having been convicted of sexual assault. The former Barcelona, Sevilla and Brazil defender had been on trial earlier this month, and a guilty verdict was handed down on Thursday.
Back in Alves’ homeland of Brazil, there has been uproar aimed at him following this conviction. A statue of him, which was built in 2020, had been vandalised on multiple occasions during 2023 – while he was on remand in a Barcelona prison awaiting trial – and now there are calls for it to be removed altogether, as reported by Marca.
The City Council of Juazeiro, where the statue of Alves is located, wants it removed as soon as possible. At this stage, there are talks currently being held in response to the matter, and it’s expected that a decision will be reached by all parties in the coming days.
