Pumas UNAM cut Dani Alves after his arrest — then spent two years fighting over the bill

Pumas UNAM, the Mexico City football club tied to the national university, signed Brazilian defender Dani Alves in July 2022. On December 30, 2022, Spanish police arrested Alves in Barcelona over an allegation of sexual assault at a nightclub; a judge ordered him held without bail while the case proceeded.

On January 20, 2023, Pumas terminated Alves's contract for cause, citing a conduct clause, and formally announced the decision through the university's own gazette. The club then filed a claim with FIFA seeking $5 million in damages plus $1.12 million to recover an image-rights payment made days before the arrest — arguing the scandal had made the deal worthless.

FIFA's dispute chamber initially ruled in Alves's favor. Pumas appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On February 22, 2024, a Barcelona court convicted Alves of sexual assault and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison; an appeals court later acquitted him in March 2025, citing reasonable doubt.

On September 17, 2025, CAS ruled for Pumas on the contract dispute, finding the $5 million penalty clause disproportionate — nearly 17 times the $300,000 contract's value — but upholding the termination itself and ordering Alves to pay the club $2.25 million plus 5% annual interest, tied to the value of his combined playing and image-rights contracts.