The estranged wife of disgraced footballer Dani Alves has deleted her Instagram account just hours after he was granted release from prison on bail after serving a quarter of his rape sentence.
Supermodel Joana Sanz revealed last year that she had filed for divorce after the accusations against the ex-Barcelona player came to light, but went on to signal her support for him both online and at court.
Alves, 40, was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve, 2022 following his three-day trial last month, and has been held at Brians 2 Prison in Barcelona since January 2023.
He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, a decision his lawyers are now appealing, and he was yesterday told he could be released on bail once he has paid a €1million (£850,000) fee.
Tenerife-born Sanz has since deactivated her Instragram account, which boasted nearly 1 million followers, with questions swirling over whether she did so in response to the court’s decision.
Joana Sanz (pictured) previously posted a selfie on Instagram moments after her husband was handed a four-and-a-half year prison sentence
Alves, 40, was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve, 2022
Supermodel Joana Sanz revealed last year that she had filed for divorce after the accusations against the ex-Barcelona player came to light (pictured together in London in 2021)
Throughout the trial, the 30-year-old model went through an acrimonious split with her husband of eight years, which was confirmed at the end of April 2023.
But the couple are still thought to be married, as she revealed during her court testimony last month that they were not yet legally divorced.
She was seen accompanying him to the courthouse at the start of his three-day rape trial, which began on February 5, and it initially appeared as though she was attending the trial to support him.
But taking to the stand at his trial, she told the judge that he stunk of alcohol when he arrived back at their home on the night of the attack.
She sparked confusion again when her husband was sentenced, posting a defiant selfie on her Instagram moments after he was given four-and-a-half years behind bars.
It is unclear why the 30-year-old model’s account, which had an associated Threads page, has disappeared.
Tenerife-born Sanz regularly shared content showing off her jetset lifestyle and luxury clothes with her 949,000 Instagram fans.
Joana Sanz, 31, was accused of an extraordinary lack of judgement after taking to social media to say she would love to have her hair pulled and have sex against a wall
Tenerife-born Sanz (pictured) sparked controversy with a post in support of her estranged husband
But she also received backlash for a controversial Threads post about sex, shared just a week after Alves was convicted of rape.
She wrote on Threads, an Instagram app where social media users can view and share public conversations: ‘Right now I would love to have my hair pulled and be ‘f**ked’ against a wall. It would renew my energy.’
Spanish media and social media users have reacted with incredulity and anger at her remarks, calling them ‘disgraceful’ and saying she ‘lacked empathy’.
Sanz defended her comments during an Instagram Live, saying: ‘It seems incredible to me that I have to be justifying everything I say or do.
‘People take everything out of context and then the same few as always go and repeat it.
‘I can’t believe what’s being said.
‘The threads I publish are spontaneous things that arise from thoughts.
‘Stop linking things to the court case or Dani or anything else. They’re things relating to my life. I have a life as well parallel to all that.’
Dani Alves’ ex, Joana Sanz (left) revealed she had filed for divorce last year after the accusations against Alves came to light
She added: ‘Yes, people, let’s not act puritanical now. It fascinates me. I am fascinated by that passion, that fieriness when they grab your hair, kiss you and eat you whole.
‘And that’s fine, too. I’m talking about me personally, about what I like and, well, each person in their privacy and with mutual respect, let them do what they like.
‘And what bothers me most is that people are taking this out of context and associating it with a judicial issue that has nothing at all to do with this.’
The mother-of-two also sparked controversy with a recent post in support of her estranged husband.
The Brazilian, who spent eight years at Barcelona between 2008 and 2016, winning was removed from their official list of club legends after being found guilty of rape.
However, she appeared to celebrate him being reinstated on Barcelona’s list of club legends earlier this month, writing on her Instagram story ‘To Caesar what belongs to Caesar’
However, the club performed a U-turn just days later and put him back on their list in a decision that appeared to be celebrated by his ex-wife, Sanz.
She wrote ‘To Caesar what belongs to Caesar’ on her Instagram story alongside a picture of Alves celebrating in a Barcelona shirt.
Speculation around the state of the couple’s relationship has been rife since the rape accusation against Alves first came to light.
He initially claimed he had never met the woman he sexually assaulted, but later changed his story, saying that while he did meet her, his encounter with her was entirely consensual and that no assault took place.
This was the first time he admitted to cheating on his wife. He told Spanish media in June 2023: ‘The only person I have to apologise to is my wife, Joana Sanz.’
June 2023 was the first time Alves had publicly apologised for cheating on his wife
Sanz was seen holding hands with Alves’ mother, Lucia, on the second day of the Brazilian footballer’s trial
Joana Sanz, Alves’ wife, walked into the Barcelona courtroom to give evidence
‘The woman I married eight years ago, to whom I am still married, and with whom I hope to continue living all my life.
‘I have already apologised to her personally here in prison, but I must do it publicly, because the story is public, the offence is public and she deserves a public apology.
‘These have been, are being and will be very hard days for her. I thank her for everything she is doing for me. Her role is not easy. I love her and during this time in prison I have thought a lot about our marriage.
‘I am certain that I was not wrong to choose Joana as my wife. Although perhaps she did make a mistake with me.’