Dani Alves: It would be very good if Leo Messi finished his career here

Dani Alves is unique. Clear and straightforward with his words. He spoke to Tot Costa on Radio Catalunya.

“In my goodbye I said when I’m here I am happy,” said Alves. “To be part of Barcelona’s great history, to feel these colours 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: “I 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 they are called Alves, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic.”

Alves is back, bu Messi isn’t. The Brazilian does not understand it. 

“Messi is the best player in the history of football. It’s strange to be here and not see him, not to have him 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.”

On Xavi, he added: “We speak about football, 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 revolutionise football. Cruyff did it, and then Guardiola. Barca is love for the game and it has to return to that.”