Former Brazil footballer Dani Alves has been granted release on bail for €1 million ($1.1m) upon appeal, a court in Barcelona, Spain, announced on Wednesday.
Alves, 40, was convicted of sexual assault last month and sentenced to 4½ years in prison, of which he had already served over a year.
His lawyer, Inés Guardiola, fought the ruling and, following a hearing on Tuesday, Alves has been released pending a final resolution in the appeal.