Inside Spain: Good news for Liverpool, Dani Alves released despite rape conviction, Barcelona sales

Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Former Barcelona and Brazil star Dani Alves has been let out of prison this week after he cobbled together €1m for his bail bond on Monday. Fourteen months after he handed himself in to the authorities. That’s despite the fact he was convicted of rape last month.

Alves was sentenced to four and a half years for rape, after paying €150k in damages to the victim. However the prosecution are appealing the case, and so are the victim and the prosecution, who want his sentence extended. The initial trial took a year to get to court though, and it could see Alves out of prison for some time.

On the pitch, Spain drew 3-3 each with Brazil in a game that saw statement performances from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal and 17-year-old Endrick Felipe. Spain captain Alvaro Morata was booed at the Santiago Bernabeu for playing for Atletico Madrid, and Vinicius Junior was again the centre of attention, but this time for picking fights with four separate Spain players.

Luis de la Fuente was not happy with the whistles towards Morata. pic.twitter.com/TfYQNRISqQ

— Football España (@footballespana_) March 27, 2024

Last week news was broken that Real Madrid are closely monitoring the situation of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract next summer. However the good news is that Los Blancos will not move for Alexander-Arnold this summer, after deciding to renew the deal of veteran Lucas Vazquez, along with Nacho Fernandez and the somewhat more notable Toni Kroos.

Barcelona are still in contact with Chelsea and Arsenal target Nico Williams, but his €50m release clause seems unaffordable, particularly when taking into account that they will try to raise €200m in sales from 5-6 exits first.

Meanwhile Jagoba Arrasate announced that he would be leaving Osasuna at the end of the season, after six years in the role. He earned them promotion and took them to a Copa del Rey final, and with Basque managers in fashion, it would be no surprise if he were the next to find his way into the Premier League – although his English may require some work.

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