Ex-Barcelona defender Dani Alves has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after allegedly touching a woman under her clothes at a nightclub without her consent.

The Brazilian World Cup star was detained on Friday morning and will be kept in custody until a court hearing later, a police spokesperson told Reuters news agency.

Alves is accused of touching a woman below her underwear at a Barcelona nightclub on 30 December.

She reported the incident to staff, who alerted police. They took a statement from the woman.

She then filed a formal complaint on 2 January.

Alves denied inappropriate behaviour in an interview with Spanish TV channel Antena 3 earlier this month.

He said: “I was dancing and having a good time without invading anyone’s space.

“I don’t know who this lady is… How could I do that to a woman? No.”

The 39-year-old footballer is Brazil’s second most capped player, having made 126 appearances for his country.

Alves spent almost a decade at Barcelona from 2008 to 2016 before moving to Juventus.

Over the past five years he has played for the Turin club, Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo before returning to Barcelona for a stint in 2021.

He moved to Mexican side Punas UNAM in July.

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