Barcelona have made a definitive decision on the future of veteran full-back Dani Alves.
The Brazilian right-back became the first signing of new Blaugrana boss Xavi Hernandez at the Camp Nou, arriving on a free transfer after his contract was cancelled at Sao Paulo.
The 38-year-old returned to the club after five-and-a-half years away and has instantly become an important member of the first-team squad, making five first team appearances.
However, his long-term future at the club came under scrutiny after Xavi reached the decision to exclude him from the club’s Europa League squad.
Alves will celebrate his 39th birthday in May but his energy levels and performances have ensured he is often preferred in the position to Sergino Dest.
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Alves signed a temporary contract at the club to cover the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, with a decision then to be taken about his future going forwards.
However, the Blaugrana held an option to extend this agreement by a further year and they are now set to exercise this.
As per a report in Marca, the club have already informed Alves that they plan to renew his deal through to the summer of 2023 – of which he is in agreement.
This landmark deal would take Alves up to his 40 th birthday but would ensure that the club do not need to invest further in the position ahead of what could be a busy summer at the Camp Nou.
This decision is in spite of the fact that the Brazilian was excluded from the club’s Europa League squad.
Barca had to prepare their squad without one of their key signings due to UEFA rules about registrations of new players during the season.
Article 46 of UEFA's regulations states that from "the knockout round play-offs, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition."
For his part, Alves is keen to play at the highest level in order to win a place in the Brazilian squad for this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Alves wants to participate in his fourth World Cup and add to his 121 caps for the Selecao, for whom he has won multiple Copa America tournaments alongside last year’s Olympics Gold medal, but never tasted success in the World Cup.
Dest is the only other recognised right-back in Xavi’s squad, although central defender Oscar Mingueza and midfielder Sergi Roberto have previously been deployed in the position – to varying degrees of success.
Alves won 26 trophies in his first spell at the Camp Nou between 2008 and 2016, including six La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns.
