November 11, (THEWILL) – Despite Dani Alves expressing a willingness to rejoin and a supposed desire from the Spanish side to bring him back, Barcelona have passed on the chance to resign with the veteran right-back.
After leaving Sao Paulo in September, the 38-year-old is planning a comeback in a bid to secure a place in the Brazil team ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He recently stated his desire to return to Barcelona, with reports suggesting that Barcelona were in talks with Alves regarding a January move.
However, it is emerging that a reunion with the highly decorated defender has already been ruled out.
Barcelona are not looking to strengthen at right-back, where Sergino Dest and Sergi Roberto share playing minutes. They are also not interested in bringing in aging players while focusing on a rebuild.
Officials at the club have expressed their admiration and respect for Alves, but they have stated that they are trying to move in a different path and will not be extending him a contract as it seemed from early reports. In fact, the defender has clarified through his press office that no meetings with the Catalan club are planned.
Barcelona’s priority is to find more cover in attack, since Martin Braithwaite is injured and Sergio Aguero is unable to play due to a heart condition. Some attention on Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling from Barca elicited City manager Pep Guardiola to claim that the English forward would be enticed by a move to Camp Nou.
A loan transfer for the Englishman is being examined, but other names being talked at the club include Edinson Cavani of Manchester United and Timo Werner of Chelsea, both of whom are not first-choice players for their respective clubs.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
