Right-back Dani Alves officially bid farewell to his club Barcelona today, Thursday, after his contract ended and the Catalan team refused to renew it due to not needing the services of the veteran Brazilian defender. Alves' contract with Barcelona officially ended today. The 39-year-old posted a video on his Instagram account featuring highlights from his matches with Barcelona and wrote: "Last day in the contract... and as you know, a new contract isn't binding until the previous one is finished."
He added, "I also take this opportunity to showcase my skills, because I'm old and have lost credibility in the market... In these photos, there's an old man doing things with a different perspective, always keeping his head held high." He jokingly continued, "Regardless of the jokes... today I am really available in the transfer market... my name is Dani Alves, a Brazilian player, but I am also known as the nice crazy guy."
He concluded, "I am 39 years old, and in addition to my name, I am the most decorated player in football history with 43 titles... and I will play football until I am 50." Alves played 408 matches for Barcelona over two periods, the first from 2008 to 2016 during which the team enjoyed a golden era by winning the Spanish league title 6 times, the Champions League 3 times, and the Spanish Cup 4 times.
In November of last year, the veteran Brazilian returned to defend the colors of the Catalan club again at the request of coach Xavi, with a short-term contract until the end of the last season. Alves is still representing the Brazilian national team and played in the last two friendly matches against Japan and South Korea this month. He is expected to be part of the official squad that will participate in the World Cup in Qatar scheduled from November 21 to December 18.
