Dani Alves reveals why he returned to Barca

Dani Alves signed an 18-month contract with Barcelona on Wednesday in front of 10,000 at Camp Nou and has spoken of why he has returned to the club.

The right-back is now 38 years old and has not played competitively since being released by Sao Paulo on September 10.

It means that he will have to wait until January before being registered to play for Barcelona again, more than five years after departing for Juventus in the summer 2016.

Dani Alves is approaching the challenge of returning to Barca in the twilight of his career with his typical swagger and believes that he can have a positive impact on the club.

“The locker room right now is a lot better that I’m here!” he joked.

“They’re very young players, with a lot of ambition and some of us that have already ran a few more miles than them, we need to put our strengths together to transform Barca again. And I insist that we can only do this together. Alone, we can’t do anything. I’m sure if we unite our forces together and if we’re positive. Great things can only be achieved through hard work and positivity.

“It’s like the slogan of this club: it’s more than a club because we’re all Barca and Barca is all of us. So thank you so much.”

World Cup ambition

In addition to the goal of helping the whole squad, Dani Alves also underlined that he has a personal target to achieve back at Barcelona.

“I’m clear that I want to play the 2022 World Cup and anything can happen here. There are special things in this club and in this city,” he said.

“I’m back five years after I left and you have to value the chance to return to Barca. Worlds fail me.

“It’s a special day for me. I’ve won a war because I promised myself that I would return.”

Dani Alves’ history at Barcelona is one steeped with trophies. In total, he has picked up 23 titles with the Blaugrana, including six Primera Division crowns and three Champions Leagues.