Neymar's father distances himself and his son from Dani Alves' legal proceedings

ESPN reports late on Thursday that Neymar Santos Sr., the father of Brazilian-born football player Neymar Jr., has disclosed that his family would not be associated with the legal proceedings involving the convicted former football player, Daniel Alves.

Alves and Neymar Jr. were colleagues for Brazil, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian and former Barcelona footballer was found guilty of raping a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022, and he was jailed on February 22.

Prosecutors added that the victim, who testified behind a screen to conceal her identity, claimed that Alves had brutally coerced her into having intercourse in the nightclub’s private toilet in spite of her pleas for him to let her go, leaving her feeling “anguished and terrified.”

Alves was later given bail after receiving “provisional release” from a Barcelona Provincial Court in exchange for a one million euro bail payment.

In addition, he had to give up his passports to Brazil and Spain, stay in Spain, and appear in court every week.

The decision was made one day after the 40-year-old’s attorney asked for his release, citing the fact that he has already spent 25% of his four-and-a-half-year term in pre-trial custody after being arrested in January 2023.

“There is speculation and an attempt is made to associate my name and that of my son with a matter that no longer belongs to us today.” said Neymar’s father in a statement posted on his Instagram page on Thursday.

He recalled that he had provided Alves with assistance “without any connection with any lawsuit” before to his conviction.

He did, however, note that “the situation is different from the previous one” in light of the current development.

Alves “finds with his own family all the answers he seeks,” according to Neymar Sr.

Read the full statement below:

“As everyone knows, at the beginning, I helped Dani Alves, without any connection with any lawsuit. In this second moment, in a situation different from the previous one, in which the Spanish courts have already ruled in favour of the conviction, there is speculation and an attempt is made to associate my name and that of my son with a matter that no longer belongs to us today. I hope that Daniel finds with his own family all the answers he seeks. For us, for my family, the matter is over.”

Another former player for AC Milan, Robinho, 40, was sentenced in an Italian court to begin serving his jail term “immediately” in Brazil after he was found guilty of participating in the 2013 gang rape of a woman at a Milan nightclub.

Robinho’s legal team asked the Supreme Court to delay the ruling on his sentence, which was rendered by Brazil’s top appeals court, on Thursday so they could contest the validity of Robinho’s upcoming incarceration.

Lawyers for the former football player for Real Madrid and Manchester City, however, announced on Thursday that they had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.