Ex-wife of Dani Alves says he would ‘never’ sexually assault a woman after the Brazilian World Cup star was arrested over nightclub bathroom sex attack claim and held in Spanish prison

• Alves’ ex-wife spoke in support of the footballer following assault allegations
• Former Barcelona defender protests innocence as he is held in Spanish prison 
• Spanish media claims he told the judge he had consensual sex with his accuser after being told witnesses and CCTV contradicted his claim he did not know her 

Brazil international Dani Alves’ ex-wife has said she is living a nightmare after his arrest and incarceration and insisted he would ‘never’ commit the sex crime he has been accused of. 

39-year-old Alves has spent the last three nights sleeping at Brians 1 jail near Barcelona after being held over an alleged sexual assault at the city’s Sutton nightclub last month.

An alleged victim reportedly accused him of slapping her and raping her in a nightclub toilet.

Court officials who have confirmed the footballer is under investigation for alleged sexual assault have not specified the exact nature of the allegations. 

Dana Dinorah, ex-wife of Alves, said: ‘I’m still in shock. It seems like it’s a nightmare and it’s not happening.’

Former wife and agent Dinorah here pictured at a press conference in Barcelona in 2015

Insisting she believed the father of their two children was innocent, the Brazilian-based businesswoman said in an interview with a Spanish TV programme: ‘Dani would never ever ever do this.

‘I say this because I’ve known him for 22 years and was married to him for ten.

‘This has been a shock for me and for my children.

‘I have two teenage children who are suffering.’

Speaking to the programme Fiesta on Spain’s Telecinco station, Dana added: ‘Dani asked his lawyer to call me so I could sort out his most urgent things.

‘I found out he was in prison because of that phone call he asked his lawyer to make to me.

‘I’ve not had access to Dani and haven’t been able to speak to him on the phone. His lawyer says he’s sad but he’s okay. She’s the only one who has been able to see him.

‘I’m here for whatever I can do to help him.’

Brians 1 prison near Barcelona where former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves is being held 

Dani Alves (L) in 2021 with wife Joana Sanz (R), who spoke recently on her husband’s arrest

Dana spoke after the footballer’s current wife, Spanish model Joana Sanz, said she had lost the ‘two pillars of my life’ following her husband’s incarceration and her mother’s death.

The former Barcelona defender, sacked by Mexican club UNAM Pumas after it emerged he had been remanded in custody by a judge over the sexual assault allegations, was arrested after flying to Spain last week following the death of his mother-in-law.

It was initially claimed Alves, who became the oldest Brazilian to play in a FIFA World Cup last month, had been accused of putting his hands down a woman’s underwear in a nightclub toilet before the rape allegation emerged.

Spanish media reported overnight the footballer had asked his defence lawyer for permission to be questioned again under oath by the judge who sent him to prison pending an ongoing probe so he could clarify reported inconsistencies in statements he has made inside and outside court about the allegations before and after his arrest.

He told a TV programme before his arrest he had never met his female accuser although he admitted to being at the nightclub where the alleged incident occurred.

Spanish media reports over the weekend, which police and court officials have not commented on, have claimed he told the judge he had ‘consensual sex’ with the woman after being told witnesses and CCTV footage contradicted his TV claims he had not met his alleged victim.

Former Barcelona right-back Dani Alves (R), 39, pictured with his wife Joana Sanz (L), 29

Dani Alves moved to Mexican league team UNAM Pumas after a year back at Barcelona 

Tenerife-born Joana Sanz had already shown she was backing her man ahead of his arrest and incarceration, saying on social media her husband had never shown her a lack of respect and claiming she had seen women ‘trying it on’ with Alves in front of her.

Hours before he was remanded in custody she posted a photo of them holding hands with the message ‘Together’ in English.

On Friday night Joana, who married Alves in Formentera off Ibiza in 2017, wrote: ‘I ask media who are outside my house to please respect my privacy at this moment.

‘My mother died a week ago and I have barely begun to take on board that she is no longer with me for me to be tormented with the situation of my husband.

‘I have lost the only two pillars in my life.’

Alves was let go from his contract at UNAM Pumas after returning from a stint at Barcelona 

Alves is expected to remain at Brians 1 for at least the next few weeks until his lawyer can persuade judges he is not a flight risk and should be released after lodging bail.

Investigations of the sort currently being conducted by the investigating magistrate can take months and even years in some cases to complete, although when suspects are being held in jail they speed up their probes as much as possible.

People under formal investigation can be held in prison without charge for up to four years in Spain, although the normal limit is two years.

Formal charges in Spain are only laid when an investigating magistrate rules there is sufficient evidence for a trial to take place and subsequently invites prosecutors to submit an indictment.

Both the state prosecutor in this case and a lawyer acting for Alves’ female accuser demanded the footballer’s remand in custody during the behind-closed-doors court hearing on Friday which followed his arrest at an undisclosed location in Barcelona.

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