- Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid and Catherine Armstrong in London
- BBC news
Dani Alves has been in prison for more than a year after being charged with forcing a woman to perform sex acts.
Former Brazilian national soccer player Dani Alves is on trial in Spain for raping a woman in a nightclub.
The 40-year-old has been in jail without bail for more than a year since the incident occurred in December 2022.
If Alves is found guilty, he could be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
He initially denied meeting his accuser, but later said they had consensual sex. His trial ends Wednesday.
More than 30 people are expected to testify, including Dani Alves and his estranged wife.
A Barcelona court on Monday rejected his request to suspend the trial to give him more time to prepare, rejecting his claims that he was being tried by the media.
Mr. Alves’s accuser was one of those testifying on the first day of the trial, and did so from behind a screen to protect his identity.
She claims he lured her into the bathroom of a VIP section of a Barcelona nightclub and then forced her to have sex.
A cousin and friend of the woman who was with her the night of the alleged assault also testified Monday. They said Mr. Alves had groped and flirted with them earlier in the evening.
He also said that the woman was initially reluctant to press charges for fear that she would not be believed.
In Spain, rape allegations are investigated under a general charge of sexual assault, which can result in prison terms of between four and 15 years if convicted.
Prosecutors in the case are seeking nine years in prison for Mr Alves and compensation of 150,000 euros (about £128,000) to the woman.
His mother, Lucia Alves, who appeared in court with her son on Monday, may also face charges after naming her son’s accuser in a social media post before the trial.
It came after a court ruled the woman could not be identified for protection reasons.
Alves was formally charged in August, and a court later ruled there was enough evidence to send him to trial.
Repeated requests for him to be released on bail have been denied because the court deemed the Brazilian to be a flight risk.
Dani Alves is one of the most decorated footballers in history and has played for many top clubs including Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
He played more than 400 games for Barcelona, winning six league titles and three Champions League titles in two years, and was included in Brazil’s squad for the 2022 World Cup.
His most recent club, Mexican side Pumas UNAM, terminated the Brazilian’s contract with immediate effect in January 2023.