The Future of Dani Alves with Barça.

Dani Alves is entering the final months of his career as a Barça player. His contract ends at the conclusion of the season. He is free to talk to other teams since January as he was hoping to stay with the Blaugrana. That might be different as of last week since both, the club and the player, differ on terms for a new deal. Either a compromise must be reached or this relationship will come to a sad end.

Dani Alves will go down in Barça’s history as the greatest right back to have ever played for the club. At one time, he was considered one of the best in the game. However, those days feels like a distant memory. He was such an offensive asset in the past as he partnered with Messi down on the right flank while the club won all those titles under Guardiola. When Barça captured the league and Champions League double in 2010-2011 season, Dani had 18 assists. However, he has not reached double digits in league assists since the 2011-2012 season. Furthermore, we have been witness to his gradual decline over the years with no hopes of improvement as he has become more known for his ineffective crosses as a running gag with followers.

Charts courtesy of Sarah Khoury @SarahKhoury2

Last week, Barça president Bartomeu and Dani Alves’s agent, Dinorah Santana, sat down for one last meeting to try to come to an agreement after initial talks began following El Clásico. Santana, also Dani’s ex-wife, spoke to the media from the passenger seat of her car, after that meeting ended, to inform the public that no deal had been reached. She disclosed that the fullback was seeking a three year deal and that Barça offered a new contract based on conditions. Santana stated, “Barça said three years if the player plays at least 60 percent each season, if he doesn’t, it won’t continue year-on-year.” She added, “That for me is not three years. It is one year”.

VÍDEO: Ya puedes escuchar las declaraciones de la agente de Alves tras la reunión con el Barça http://t.co/JgJa4DEM7f pic.twitter.com/kVveU8HhGZ
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) April 8, 2015

Santana was not finished. She then mentioned that she had spoken with Barça presidential candidates about his future. “I’ve spoken with some of the presidential candidates at Barça and they’ve told me think differently.” She was now trying to use political propaganda against this current board. That makes sense seeing as the club seems to be only attracting bad publicity and this would be another setback for them come elections time.

Alves' agent: "I've spoken with some of the presidential candidates at Barça and they've told me think differently."
— SPORT English (@Sport_EN) April 9, 2015

Santana told the world that Barça offered Dani Alves a 1+1+1 deal, but Barça countered that they had offered him a 2+1 deal instead. It was the classic he said, she said between two parties negotiating. The problem was Santana was taking this to the media in hopes of winning public sympathy. Santana stated that Dani Alves was sad, although he sure caught many fans off guard when he later posted a photo of himself on Instagram smiling with his pants at his ankles. If a photo is worth a thousand words, then that photo was the epiphany of dropping the ball at the worst moment in terms of garnering more sympathizers on his side.

Tw Alves: "Life is a great game and I'm a small player #goodvibealways #lovelife" [danid2ois] pic.twitter.com/goIbqYiikU
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 9, 2015

This unexpectedly turned into a game of Poker when Santana tried to use other teams’ offers as leverage against the board. Barça cannot sign new players thanks to the FIFA transfer ban, so if Dani Alves leaves, the club is stuck with Montoya and Douglas as the only first team fullbacks for next season. Santana tried to use that to her client’s advantage when she said, “Dani has a concrete offer on the table for a three-year deal plus the option for an extra year with a better wage than he has here and a signing on fee.”

By no means am I a fan of this current Barça board. I detest them and want them gone. However, they were right to balk at this proposal. Just because Barça are in this predicament because of the transfer ban does not mean that they should held hostage and be forced to give Dani Alves the deal that he wants. If other teams have offered the fullback a three-year deal with better wages, then call their bluff in this poker game. How can you justify giving Dani Alves a raise when he has regressed over the years?

Furthermore, this month’s issue of Four Four Two had an article indicating the top 50 paid footballers in the world. Dani came in 16th with a weekly salary of £182,341 (roughly $268,000 a week). Mind you, Philip Lahm came in 43rd, earning $210,000 and makes you wonder who really deserves a raise but that is a different story. The fact that Dani Alves thinks he can force the club to give him a raise since they cannot replace him till 2016 is not exactly in the club’s best interest. They are planning on giving the likes of Pique, Jordi Alba and Neymar new wages in the near future and that budget cannot be feasible if includes paying Dani more than what he is earning now.

If Dani Alves wants to stay, then accept the new deal. He once posted on his Instagram account, “… felicidade está nas coisas mais simples e não em notas de cem” which basically means happiness comes in the simplest things, and not in $100 bills. Well, Dani, practice what you preach! If he does not want to play for Barça next season with his current salary, then thanks for the memories and good luck wherever you go.

Dani Alves commented that he will think about his future after the season is over. However, if both sides want Dani to remain, then he should accept the offer or else the club will go with a platoon of Montoya and Bartra at that position (forget about Douglas), or even 3-4-3 formation till the transfer ban ends. That’s a four month gamble risk till Barça can sign new players in the January 2016 winter transfer window. Since Dani Alves is suspended for the upcoming match against Paris Saint-Germain, we will get a glimpse of life without Dani. There is still time for both sides to reach to some sort of an agreement and the current Barça offer seems fair enough. If Dani Alves wants to stay with Barça, then he should accept the offer and not try to bluff his way into a raise.

Ibrahim Ayyub – @IBES16

* Special thanks to Sarah Khoury for the Dani Alves charts. You can follow her on her twitter @SarahKhoury2 for statistical charts regarding FC Barcelona and their players.