(Barcelona) Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, accused of rape, was heard again on Monday, at his request, by the judge hearing the case in Barcelona.

The former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player left prison where he has been in pre-trial detention since January 20 near Barcelona to be heard for almost half an hour by this magistrate.

According to a judicial source, the 39-year-old footballer again claimed that the sexual relationship he had with the complainant was consensual.

Dani Alves was heard for the first time by the same magistrate the day she placed him in detention, January 20, because of a “high risk of flight” of the player in Brazil, which does not extradite in general its nationals.

The player’s lawyers tried to obtain his release, pending his trial, but their appeal was rejected in February.

According to the local press, they are preparing a new appeal, following the new hearing of the player.

Alves, who also played at Sevilla FC or Juventus Turin, is accused by a young woman of having raped her at the end of December in the toilets of a private room in a fashionable Barcelona nightclub.

The player, who initially denied knowing this young woman, changed his version several times before admitting that he had had a sexual relationship with her, but consented according to him.

A few hours after the announcement of his indictment in January, the Mexican club Pumas announced that it was terminating the Brazilian’s contract, initially scheduled until June 2023.

The most successful footballer in the world with 43 trophies, Alves lived the most glorious period of his career at Barça, between 2008 and 2016. He won 23 titles with the Catalan club, including three Champions Leagues, six Spanish championships and four King’s Cups.

At the World Cup in Qatar, he became the oldest Brazilian player to participate in a World Cup.