Dani Alves, a former Barcelona and Brazil defender, was formally charged by a Spanish judge in January for alleged sexual assault. Alves was arrested in December on suspicion of assaulting a lady at a Barcelona nightclub.
The court stated that she found evidence of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old.
Alves, who has been jailed without bail and had his requests to be released rejected, claims he had consensual sex with his accuser.
According to his lawyer, the player would not slow down the proceedings by appealing against the indictment.
“Alves is upset with the narrative of the facts. He disagrees with it,” his lawyer Cristobal Martell told reporters.
In Spain, a rape allegation is investigated under the general accusation of sexual assault and verdicts can lead to prison sentences of four to 15 years.
The prosecution must now submit official charges to the court, after which a trial date will be set.
Alves appeared 408 times for Barcelona, winning 6 league titles and 3 Champions Leagues in two spells. He was also part of Brazil’s World Cup team in 2022.
His most recent club, Pumas UNAM in Mexico, cancelled his contract with immediate effect in January.