The Daniel Alves affair obviously does not leave his former club Barça indifferent. FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez spoke this Saturday, at a press conference, on the announcement of the provisional detention of the Brazilian footballer, accused by a woman of rape. “I think, like everyone else, I’m surprised, taken aback, I’m in shock, because I know Dani,” said Xavi, who was the Seleçao defender’s teammate and then coach for many years.
The 39-year-old, who returned to Barca last season, having already played there from 2008 to 2016, was remanded to Barcelona on Friday for “sexual assault”, a charge which includes rape in the Spanish criminal code. According to a source familiar with the matter, the young woman accused the Brazilian international of rape, an accusation reiterated on Friday before the magistrate, who decided to place Daniel Alves in pre-trial detention.
“I feel bad for him”
“The first thing that comes to mind is that this is a matter of justice, and justice will take its course, we can not say anything more, continued Xavi. About Dani, I feel bad for him, I’m surprised, given who Dani is, and how he behaved when he was with us. »
Former FC Barcelona, Juventus and PSG player Daniel Alves, who participated with the Seleçao in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was also fired on Friday by his Mexican club Pumas, following the announcement of his detention. Catalan police said they received the complaint against Alves on January 2. The facts would have taken place in the toilets of a fashionable nightclub in Barcelona, on the night of December 30 to 31, according to the Spanish media.