Swiss Supreme Court Rules Against Dani Alves in Pumas Compensation Case

Dani Alves has lost his final legal battle with Pumas UNAM.

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has rejected the former Brazil defender’s appeal and confirmed a previous ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), according to ESPN Brazil. The decision, issued on June 11 and now legally binding, orders Alves to pay £1.7 million ($2.3m) in compensation to the Mexican club.

That verdict closes a long and bitter dispute born from the abrupt end of his short spell in Mexico.

Pumas terminated Alves’s contract in January 2023 after his arrest in Barcelona on sexual assault charges. The club went after heavy damages, claiming breach of contract and demanding $5m in compensation plus an additional $1m related to image rights they said had already been paid.

FIFA’s Football Tribunal initially sided with Alves, dismissing Pumas’ claim. The case looked dead.

Pumas refused to let it go. They took the fight to CAS, won there, and have now seen that victory upheld at the highest legal level in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court’s dismissal of Alves’s appeal effectively locks in the CAS decision and leaves the 43-year-old with a sizeable bill.

The financial hit goes beyond the £1.7m compensation order. Alves must also pay 17,000 Swiss francs in legal costs and a further 19,000 Swiss francs in procedural expenses, tightening the screw on an already costly affair.

Alves previously served 14 months in prison before his release in March 2025, when a Spanish court overturned his conviction. While that ruling transformed his criminal case, it did not spare him from the contractual consequences of his time at Pumas.

For the Mexican club, this is more than a balance-sheet win. It is a landmark success in enforcing disciplinary clauses in player contracts, a clear signal that they were prepared to defend their position all the way to Switzerland’s top court.

For Alves, it comes at a moment of reinvention.

The former Sevilla and Barcelona star has already drawn a line under his playing career and moved into the boardroom. He has completed a takeover of Portuguese third-tier side Sporting Clube de Sao Joao de Ver, stepping into football administration and club ownership as his next chapter.

That new project now runs in parallel with an old obligation. Before he can fully focus on building a club in Europe, Alves must settle his debt to Pumas, with the Swiss ruling leaving him no room to manoeuvre.