A Spanish judge on Wednesday formally indicted former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves for alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December.
He has been jailed on remand for over six months.
The judge handling the investigation said she had found evidence of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old player, who claims he had consensual sex with his accuser.
He was arrested on January 20 and has been held in a prison outside Barcelona without bail.
In Spain, a claim of rape is investigated under the general accusation of sexual assault and convictions can lead to prison sentences of between four and 15 years.
Alves’s lawyer said the player would not slow down the process by appealing against the indictment.
“Alves is upset with the narrative of the facts. He disagrees with it,” his lawyer Cristobal Martell told reporters.
The prosecution must now submit formal charges to the court, following which a date will be set for a trial.
Alves played 408 times for Barcelona, winning six league titles and three Champions Leagues across two spells, and was also part of Brazil’s 2022 World Cup squad.
His most recent club, Mexican side Pumas UNAM, terminated the Brazilian’s contract with immediate effect in January.
Written with inputs from Reuters
