‘Barcelona don’t care about people who made history for the club’: Dani Alves

Having departed Barcelona last month, Dani Alves expressed his disappointment with the club’s board on how they handled his recent exit. Speaking to The Guardian, Alves said, “Since I arrived, I made it very clear that I wasn’t any more a 20-year-old guy and that I wanted things to be done head-on, without hiding things. But this club has sinned in recent years. Barcelona don’t care about the people who made history for the club. As a culê [Barcelona supporter], I would like Barcelona to do things differently. I’m not talking about myself because my situation was another scenario. I am eternally grateful to Xavi and the president for bringing me back.”

The Brazilian defender rejoined Barcelona in November 2021 as a free agent, five years after leaving the club. He went on to feature 15 times across all competitions in his second stint, registering a goal and three assists.

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“I found a club full of young people with incredible ideas on the pitch”, he said.

“But it needs to improve the work outside the field. The mindset is totally opposite to what we built a few years ago. Everything that happens on the field is a reflection of what happens outside.”

“I’m supporting for Barcelona to come back to the top, but it’s super-complicated. Football is more balanced, it’s a collective game. And that has been left out at the club”, he further added.

Updating fans about his future in professional football, Alves said that he can ‘adapt to any situation’. He has been linked with Real Valladolid, where Brazil legend Ronaldo is a majority owner. “I like challenges and I adapt to any situation”, he said.

“Today I am unemployed, but interesting things have come up. I’m doing my study about places to go which have a good level of competitiveness.”

“That’s football. You have to get together with people who want the same goal, who want to compete, to win. I like to win. I want to go somewhere I can win.”