5 Footballers Who Have Previously Been Jailed
Former Barcelona and Brazilian legendary defender Dani Alves was slapped with a four and half years in jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Barcelona in a nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022. Alves has been in custody since his arrest in January 2023 and he was also ordered to pay €150,000 to the woman as compensation fee and court costs. However, his lawyer Ines Guardiola said he will appeal the decision taken by the Spanish court, “We will appeal as I’m still convinced that Dani is innocent.”
Dani Alves joins a long list of other legendary players who was sentenced in the past for various reasons. In this article, Mideyah Digital looks at 5 other footballers who were jailed following the sentencing of Alves.
1. Bruno Fernandes De Souza
The Brazilian and Flamengo goalkeeper was charged with assault, torture and murder of his girlfriend and mother to his son in 2010. Bruno was found guilty of planning her murder, hiding the body and kidnapping his baby son, and was sentenced for 22 years in 2013. However, in February 2017, he was released pending an appeal. In April 2017, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered his re-arrest. In July 2019, he was released to serve partial house arrest, being able to work or train in the day.
2. Ronaldinho
The Brazilian icon found himself in the wrong side of Paraguay laws as in March 2020, he was questioned by police in Paraguay after he was alleged to have used a fake passport to enter the country while coming for a charity event and book promotion. The legendary striker spent 5 months in the prison before he was released after pleading guilty and paying the fine.
3. Adam Johnson
In March 2015, the former Manchester City and Sunderland winger was found guilty of engaging himself in a sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl who is termed as under-age girl with England’s age of consent being 16 years. In February 2016, Johnson pleaded guilty to two charges with the other one being child grooming where he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
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4. Eric Cantona
The former France and Manchester United legendary forward joins a list of players who were once imprisoned. In 1995, Cantona was slapped with 2 weeks imprisonment after he launched a ‘karate’ on a Crystal Palace fan.
5. George Best
The former Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend who is known for his dribbling skills and regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, passed away on 25th November 2005 aged 59 and he was jailed on several occasions throughout his life with his main convictions often being on drink-driving offences.
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