In Barcelona, the court system permitted Daniel Alves to leave custody after a direct transfer of one million euros. This payment came without collateral or promissory notes. The court, known for imposing one of the highest bails in Spain to secure provisional release, accepted only this form of payment for his freedom pending the legal process.
Circumstances around Alves changed quickly: five days of negotiations were required by his circle to secure the funds after his main financial backers, Neymar Snr. and Neymar Júnior, distanced themselves, signaling they would not assist this time. Earlier in the year, they had stepped in when Alves needed 150,000 euros to cover potential damages to the victim prior to a sentence establishing a related indemnity.
That initial 150,000 euros served to have the damage repair recognized as a mitigating factor, leading to a reduced sentence of four and a half years. The Neymar family, however, viewed the current outcome as a conviction and chose not to lend again at this juncture.
Family and close contacts
Alves has thus turned to relatives and friends in Brazil, who contributed a portion of the large sum. The player’s assets are currently held in escrow due to ongoing disputes with his first wife, limiting his liquidity and his ability to sell property, including the numerous real estate holdings he owns in his homeland.
Judicial sources told this publication that part of the money arrived only after several days because transfers were being arranged from overseas. Ultimately, the funds were funneled through a single account under the players’ legal representatives and then forwarded to the court.
Fund-raising efforts
In a race against time, Alves’s team sought liquidity from multiple banks through a loan backed by the money he is expected to receive after favorable rulings in tax disputes. He has won four lawsuits so far, and his attorneys have urged the enforcement of the initial judgments, which could yield roughly seven million euros in the coming days.
The money had not yet reached Alves’s pockets, but his legal team aimed to leverage the anticipated settlement to top up the required one million euros. On Monday, the funds were deposited by late morning, with Alves not exiting custody until around mid-afternoon.
The bail is intended to guarantee Alves remains in Spain throughout the rest of the judicial process, including the handling and appeal of the four-and-a-half-year sentence. Should he attempt to flee and be captured, the bail would be forfeited and he would return to prison.
This article continues with further developments and official statements as they become available.