Dani Alves says his heart told him to stay

After signing a two-year extension — with an option for a third — Dani Alves appeared before the press on Wednesday to talk about the reasons why he decided to continue.

"I follow my heart, and my heart told me to stay. For me it’s really important to be part of this Club. This story still has a lot of pages left to write," he said, while also highlighting the role his teammates played in his decision: “I’ve never seen a group connect like this, and that led me to my decision to continue."

Luis Enrique and Lionel Messi

"The coach had confidence in me when others doubted me. He said something earlier this year that made me think — 'Stay because we’re going to have fun,' he told me. Now he’s continuing as well and I am very happy, he brought the Club back to where it deserves, he brought back our enthusiasm, and that has a lot of merit."

Alves also recognised the importance of what Messi told him: "Leo told me I should stay, that I wouldn’t be better off anywhere else."

Aleix Vidal

"I will be more demanding, I love when people come to compete in our team. He’s a great player and it’s no coincidence that he’s here. It’s clear, I’ll make him better or he’ll make me better. We’ll bring different things to the team," Alves said about FC Barcelona’s newest signing.

Xavi Hernández

About Xavi finishing his career at Barça, Alves said, "I’m not trying to be like Xavi. It would be impossible. I like to go for realistic objectives although retiring here is a possibility because I’d prefer not to have to face Barça in the future."