Dani Alves slams Barcelona after Camp Nou exit
Cameron Smith
- 11 Jul 2022 16:48 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona legend Dani Alves has slammed the club following his departure this summer. The Brazilian re-joined the Blaugrana back in November 2021, but has left after his contract expired at the end of the season.
Alves, 39, initially left Barcelona to join Juventus in 2016, before playing for Paris Saint-Germain and then Sao Paulo in his homeland.
However, he decided to re-join Barcelona following Xavi's appointment as head coach. Alves played 17 times last season, but his deal has not been renewed ahead of the upcoming La Liga season. Instead, Barcelona are hoping to sign Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
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Alves, who was released at the end of last season, is frustrated and disappointed with how things ended with Barcelona for the second time, claiming those in charge of the club "don’t care about the people who made history."
He was only brought in as a short-term option to help Barcelona steady the ship and ensure Champions League qualification, but Alves isn't pleased with how his exit was dealt with.
What has Alves said?
The Brazilian told The Guardian: "I didn’t leave sad. I left happy to have returned to Barcelona. I dreamed for five years wanting to live this second moment. The only thing I didn’t like was how my departure was handled.
"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.
"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.
"I found a club full of young people with incredible ideas on the pitch. 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."
Barcelona have reportedly found themselves with piles of debt mounted to their head, but remain keen to sign new players despite their financial issues.
Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have both arrived on free transfers, while Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde remain key targets.
