Dani Alves: ‘Barcelona Did Not Have the Balls to Re-sign Me’

Dani Alves has revealed he wanted to go back to Barcelona after leaving in 2016, but he says he was ultimately rejected because the club would not recognize the mistake they made in letting him go in the first place.

“I wanted to go back to Barça and they needed me, but they didn’t have the balls to admit that they were wrong about me,” the right-back, who now plays for São Paulo, said in a radio interview.

“If they had treated me as I believe I deserved to be treated, I would still play for Barça today. I love this club,” he said.

Alves was considered the best right-back in the world when he signed for Barcelona from Sevilla in 2008, and over the next 8 years he would continue to build his legacy as a legendary player.

A six time La Liga and three time UEFA Champions League winner, Alves would leave in 2016 on a free transfer to Juventus.

He hit the transfer market a year later, with Manchester City said to be interested. Apparently, it was then that Alves offered to come back, although Barcelona went with Nélson Semedo. Eventually, Alves signed for Paris Saint-Germain.

“The style of Barça is changing. The club has lost its identity a bit and now has to go through a tough process to recover it,” Alves reflected.

“I think that Barça only wants to be a commercial and business club ... buy and sell players. When you do that, you lose your identity. I think that is the problem for Barcelona,” he said.

The 37-year-old has reinvented himself as an attacking midfielder in the Brazilian league.

November 06, 2020