Dani Alves says he almost signed for Liverpool in 2006 after reaching an “agreement” with the club when he was at Sevilla.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender had been linked with a move to Anfield while Rafael Benitez was in charge and Alves has revealed the transfer was all but done, only for the deal to fall through at the final stages of negotiations.
After failing in their attempts to prize the Brazilian from Sevilla, Liverpool acquired the services of Jermaine Pennant and Alvaro Arbeloa while Alves went on to join Barcelona.
“I pretty much had an agreement with Liverpool. But for whatever reason it didn’t happen at the last moment and I really don’t know why, as I wasn’t the one conducting the negotiations. I had other people representing me back then,” Alves told Four Four Two.
“Something similar happened later in my career with Chelsea and Real Madrid. Of course, it all worked out happily for the Cules [Barcelona supporters] in the end, and also for me as I was able to write an amazing story at the Camp Nou instead.”
Alves arrived at Barcelona as one of Europe’s hottest prospects and went on to win six La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies and the Copa del Rey on four occasions.
Once made aware of Barcelona’s interest, the 34-year-old was keen to move to Catalonia as he was hungry to win trophies he felt were out of the reach of Sevilla.
“I wanted to win things that I unfortunately couldn’t win if I stayed at Sevilla,” he added. “We came close, but I don’t like to be just close. Six months before the transfer window opened I’d been told of Barca’s interest, and I said I’d like to play for them because of the fine history of Brazilians there, the greatness of the club and the style of football.
“So it was a successful union and I will always be grateful to Pep Guardiola, [director of football] Txiki Begiristain and [president] Joan Laporta, as they gave me the opportunity to become a big star.”
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