Daniel Alves: ‘It Would Be Great If Messi Finishes Career’ At FC Barcelona

In one of the biggest coups of the transfer window, club legend Daniel Alves returned to FC Barcelona at the ripe old age of 38 and has proven himself still able to perform at the top level with an eye the 2022 World Cup with Brazil at the end of the year.

To Radio Catalunya, he spoke on a wide range of issues and began by saying that “to be part of Barcelona’s great history, to feel these colors is what I want”.

“If things are good you have to repeat them. I want to bring seriousness when it comes to working, and joy. To be here again is a gift I am opening every day. I always fight for what I want. I wanted to return because I did not say goodbye to Barca. I could not say goodbye after eight years and 23 titles, I had the thorn in my side to come back and say goodbye. To leave with joy, so people see me as a person who loves this club,” he added.

Despite being a veteran, Alves claims that he knew that “if I came I could play”. “For what I do day to day, because I work to play, and not sunbathe. You can doubt a 38-year-old but not if they are called Alves, [Lionel] Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic,” he stressed.

That being said, Alves admitted that it was “strange” to be at the club and not see “the best player in the history of football” Messi, who joined Paris Saint Germain on a free transfer last summer, on the wing.

“Sometimes things don’t go like we dream. I told him there will be nowhere better for him than here. The same he told me when I left. It would be great if Messi finished his career here,” Alves wished.

Now working under the commands of another former teammate from the legendary Tiki-Taka era however in coach Xavi Hernandez, Alves revealed that: “We speak about football, [but] now he speaks for the group”.

“I knew that Xavi would be Barca version 3.0. It will be hard for everything he’s inherited, but I’m sure that it will happen. He has the same philosophy as Guardiola, the same style. Football is not just about winning titles. Here they look to revolutionize football. Cruyff did it, and then Guardiola. Barca is love for the game and it has to return to that,” he demanded.