According to sources cited by EL PERIÓDICO of the Prensa Ibérica group, football star Dani Alves was observed leaving Sutton nightclub after the alleged assault. The incident involved the victim and a friend; Alves passed by them without acknowledging either woman. In the footage, Alves is seen nearly brushing past them as he exits, while moments earlier, two young women, their backs turned, were in a private bathroom where the event reportedly unfolded. A 23-year-old victim is shown crying in the sequence. This description comes as the case proceeds through judicial channels that are handling the matter in Spain, with ongoing public interest in North American markets as well given Alves’s global prominence. (Source attribution: EL PERIÓDICO)
Footage from that night appears to place Alves in a position of interest during the early post-incident period. It is reported that he argued the act could have been consensual sexual intercourse, while a judge reviewing the prison decision noted that Alves’s conduct immediately afterward did not align with the act of a person who had not given consent. The footballer reportedly did not engage in dialogue with the young woman who had been dancing with him before they entered the bathroom, and he also did not address her friend, according to video captured near Sutton’s main entrance. A security guard and Sutton staff are visible in the vicinity as Alves and his associates leave the disco. (Source attribution: EL PERIÓDICO)
Post-event photographs
Video from cameras installed in Sutton’s VIP area shows Alves returning to his table after the incident. In a sequence recorded between 15 and 16 minutes after entering the bathroom, Alves sits with a friend on a couch while another companion stays nearby. The second friend, who accompanied Alves that night, moves to another part of the venue. Alves is depicted avoiding eye contact and seeking a drink while remaining silent.
Less than a half-minute later, the footage also captures the complainant leaving the bathroom, approaching her friend, and whispering something that prompts them to separate. The friend grants a brief kiss to Alves’s companion but the complainant does not reciprocate. Alves remains close but avoids making eye contact. Despite sharing a moment in the non-public setting with the two people, neither Alves nor the complainant speak or exchange farewells; the moment is noted as significant in the courtroom narratives.
The two friends embrace and head downstairs, passing through the cloakroom toward the exit. In a hallway, the victim is seen crying and telling her friend what had happened. She describes Alves having raped her and injuring her knee, a detail corroborated by a forensic report from the Hospital Clinic on the night of the event. The friend consoles her as the scene unfolds on camera.
Nearby, a security guard and Sutton staff arrive to check on the situation. Soon after, Alves and a companion approach from a corridor used by the young women, turning their backs toward them and moving toward the exit, unaware of being observed. The narrow path between a wall and the two women is traversed with Alves and his friend in view. The footage shows both men in proximity to the crying young woman.
According to the victim’s description, Alves’s friend used social media after the events to contact associates and arrange support if needed. This contact reportedly alarmed friends who already knew what had happened and prompted them to inform the Mossos d’Esquadra, the regional police force. (Source attribution: EL PERIÓDICO)
Discrepancies in the testimony
The fourth version Alves allegedly tested in his defense posits that he was in the bathroom urinating when the young woman entered and performed oral sex on him. The victim, however, described the sequence two days later to police and in court, claiming that Alves had asked her to pass through a door not knowing it was the bathroom. Once inside, she reportedly sought to leave but was prevented. He allegedly sat on the toilet and forced himself to stay, with her saying stop and begging to be released. She asserts that he refused, forcefully restrained her, and ultimately engaged in sexual activity against her will. The forensic record notes knee injuries and DNA testing reportedly supporting the victim’s account. (Source attribution: EL PERIÓDICO)
If Alves’s fourth version is to align with the evidence, it must explain why he ignored Sutton staff and the crying victim when they encountered one another in the doorway, a detail that remains contested in the case materials. (Source attribution: EL PERIÓDICO)