Neymar and Dani Alves are thought to be very close friends (Picture: Getty)
The family of Brazil international footballer Neymar paid €150,000 (£128,500) in damages to the victim of Dani Alves, according to reports.
Alves was found guilty of raping a woman in the bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub and sentenced to jail for four-and-a-half years on Thursday.
The €150k payment was made before the verdict and would have been handed to the victim regardless of the outcome of the trial.
Reports in Spain say that the court took the €150k into account when deciding on the length of Alves’ prison term.
Meanwhile, Brazilian outlet UOL have reported that the payment was in fact made by Neymar’s family.
Neymar and Alves played together for Barcelona and Brazil and are thought to be very close friends off the pitch.
It is also believed that Neymar’s family lent their legal representative Gustavo Xisto to Alves.
Dani Alves made 408 appearances for Barcelona (Picture: Getty)
Alves is among the most decorated footballers in history and was once valued at around £47m but is now reported to be in financial ruin.
The 40-year-old denies any wrongdoing in regards to the nightclub incident and the decision over his guilty verdict can be appealed.
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The Alves case was the first high-profile sex crime since Spain overhauled its legislation in 2022 to make consent – or the lack thereof – central to defining a sex crime.
It came into force in response to protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016.