Former Barcelona star Dani Alves has been acquitted of charges related to the rape of a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona, following a ruling by the Catalan High Court.

Alves had originally been convicted and sentenced to four and a half years in prison in February of last year, after a three-day trial in which he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman at Sutton Nightclub on January 30, 2022.

However, both public and private prosecutors, including those acting on behalf of the victim, appealed the decision. The prosecution had called for Alves to be jailed for nine years, while the private prosecutors demanded a 12-year sentence. In response to the appeals, the Catalan High Court delivered its judgment, rejecting the appeals and clearing Alves of the charges.

The court’s ruling, presented in a detailed 101-page written document, stated that the evidence presented did not surpass the “limits of the presumption of innocence” and thus could not uphold the conviction.

Alves, who has been out on bail since March of last year, was initially required to post €1 million (£850k) bail to secure his release from prison. He was also subjected to conditions such as handing over his passports, which prevented him from leaving Spain, and agreeing to sign in at court every Friday.

During his trial, Alves had denied the charges, insisting that the encounter with the woman was consensual. He stated on the stand in February 2023 that he would never intentionally harm anyone. In contrast, the woman, who gave her testimony behind a screen, claimed that Alves had assaulted her after hitting her.

In the original trial, the three judges who convicted Alves took into account a “mitigating factor”—the €150,000 (£128,000) compensation he had already paid to the victim.

The defender was a pivotal part of a Barcelona team crowned La Liga champions six times and which won three Champions League titles. At the international level he won 126 caps for Brazil, winning the Copa America twice.

He also won European league titles with Italian giants Juventus and French outfit Paris Saint Germain.