Dani Alves to play with FC Barcelona until June 2015

Barcelona (FCB).- The Brazilian player will continue playing with FC Barcelona until the end of the 2014-2015 season. The player was ending his current contract at the end of next season. The club and Alves were discussing his contract extension in the last weeks, after the player publicly refused the club’s wage increase to judge it insufficient. The new document will be signed tomorrow at around 19.00 in the club’s offices. No details on the wage have been disclosed yet.

“The news we were all hoping for”

Sports director Andoni Zubizarreta spoke about Alves’ new deal thus: “This is the news we were all hoping for, both the club and player. The negotiations were long but never tense and his performances on the pitch have been as good as ever. We have taken our time and we can finally announce that we have achieved the objective we set out to achieve”.

Zubi explained that “the contract will be until June 2015. We are convinced that Dani is able to stay on and that he is fit enough. We are all happy with him. We have found the balancing point between the years and the figures and so we were able to close the renewal deal to all of our satisfactions”.

Unique full back

“We always say that Barça has a very defined style and way of playing. Our philosophy has always been to go first for local talent, and also that any players that come from outside have to be able to make us ever better. Dani is a clear example of that.” The Basque had no end of praise for the Brazilian: “Alves is a different kind of player, he brings us a special dynamic, physique, ability to move up, developed skills … but most of all it’s the way he can change a game. He plays with an intensity that has nothing to do with tactics but is more about spirit. Alves had everything. We have looked at the market and there is nobody like him, he’s unique in his position”.

Now on to Pinto and Abidal

To end, Zubizarreta said that “one of our aims was to close this deal before the end of the season … Now we need to settle terms with Pinto, but most of all, getting Abidal back for the final would be the best spring signing we could make. We want to plan sporting issues as calmly as we possibly can”.