‘They didn’t have the balls to admit they were wrong about me’: Dani Alves says he offered to return to Barcelona after his successful stint at Juventus… but they refused to acknowledge their mistake in letting him leave
- Barcelona let Dani Alves leave on a free transfer in 2016, much to fans’ anger
- He went on to win league and cup with Juve, reaching Champions League final
- Alves says he then gave Barcelona chance to re-sign him, but they refused
- Club legend says Barca ‘didn’t have the balls to admit they were wrong about me’
Dani Alves has claimed that he offered Barcelona the chance to re-sign him after his successful stint at Juventus – but they ‘didn’t have the balls’ to admit they were wrong to let him leave.
Alves was allowed to exit the Nou Camp as a free agent back in 2016, and was promptly snapped up by Juventus, where he went on to win Serie A, the Coppa Italia and reach the Champions League final in his one season in Turin.
Upon leaving Juve at the end of the season, the talented Brazilian admits he gave Barcelona the option to put their mistake behind them, but was not offered a deal.
Dani Alves, now back in his native Brazil with Sao Paulo (above), has claimed that he gave Barcelona the chance to re-sign him after a year at Juve
Alves is a Barcelona legend, but says the club ‘didn’t have the balls to admit they were wrong’
‘I offered myself to Barca to come back. I went to Juve to prove I was still at a good level,’ the veteran defender told RAC 1.
‘I wanted to return to Barca and they needed me, but they didn’t have the balls to admit that they were wrong with me. If they had treated me as I thought I deserved, today I would still continue playing for Barca. I love this club.’
Instead, Alves went to France where he joined PSG, going on to lift six trophies in his two seasons with the Ligue 1 giants.
He is now back in his native Brazil playing for his boyhood club Sao Paulo, and he is still captain of the Brazil team at the age of 37.
Alves was allowed to leave Barcelona on a free transfer, going on to success in Italy and France
He celebrated league and cup success during his brief spell with Italian giants Juve
Alves, alongside Lionel Messi (left), has been very critical of the Barcelona hierarchy recently
Alves is not the first former – or current – Barcelona player to slam the board, and he thinks it will take years for them to get back to where they were.
‘The style of Barca is changing. The club has lost its identity a bit and now has to go through a tough process to recover it,’ he added.
‘I think that Barca 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.’
