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Former Barcelona star Dani Alves has reportedly become a church preacher just months after being cleared of rape.
The 42-year-old, who is one of the most decorated players in the history of football, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars in February 2024 when a court found him guilty of committing a sex attack in a Catalan nightclub for two years earlier.
Alves was later released on bail while a higher court heard his appeal. Eventually, in March of this year, the former Juventus star was acquitted by a Catalan High Court due to ‘inconsistencies and contradictions’ in the case against him.
Now it seems the Brazilian has turned to God. Videos posted to social media this week showed Alves preaching at a church in Girona, a town not far from Barcelona.
With a microphone in hand, he was filmed passionately telling crowds gathered in the church: ‘You must have faith, my brothers. I am proof of that. What God promises, God fulfills.
‘In the midst of a storm, a messenger of God appeared. He led me to the Church and the path and today I am here thanks to them.
Former Barcelona star Dani Alves has reportedly taken up a new career as a church preacher
The Brazilian was handed a four-year jail term in February last year for rape but it was overturned on appeal
I asked God to take care of my home and the hearts of the people who wouldn’t abandon me. And I promise to serve him.’
During his trial, Alves faced an acrimonious split from his wife, 33-year-old Joana Sanz. However, it was never confirmed that the pair had undergone a divorce.
Having initially supported her husband amid sexual assault allegations, Sanz and Alves’s relationship quickly deteriorated, with the runway model posting a triumphant selfie just moments after her partner was sentenced to almost five years behind bars last year.
But since Alves’ acquittal, the couple have reconciled. Only this month they welcomed their first child together, a baby son, according to Spanish showbiz website Vanitatis.
The baby’s name is unknown but is thought to begin with the letter J. Sanz is said to have given birth in Barcelona and traveled to Esplugues de Llobregat with her husband.
“I didn’t want to share anything until it was more than obvious, but I wanted to share it for those who are fighting,” she wrote on Instagram earlier this year. ‘From the age of 22, I’ve had to deal with questions like, “When’s the baby coming?”… What terrifying social pressure.
I never had a maternal instinct, that desire to have children or to like carrying someone’s baby. As the years went by, my group of friends started having babies and social media was filled with births (I guess it’s just age that’s what it is).
Dani Alves and wife Joana Sanz reportedly welcomed their first baby together earlier this month
Sanz announced that she was pregnant just three days after the former Barcelona star was cleared of rape
The phrase “your time is running out” is no joke. There is so much ignorance about a woman’s reproductive age and the fact that it is not so easy to get pregnant. Five years ago, I was very afraid of the idea of becoming a mother.
‘Fear that a human being would depend on me for survival, fear of not working, fear of losing myself as a woman… But that’s a different story.’
After Alves acquittal, his lawyers Ines Guardiola said ‘justice has finally been done’.
