SPECIAL REPORT: The Brazilian right-back is hoping to pressure the Catalan club into awarding him a three-year deal as the possibility of a Paris switch now appears dead
Dani Alves still hopes to be at Barcelona next season - even though his representative claimed last week that the right-back would not be signing a new contract at the Camp Nou.
Alves' agent and ex-wife Dinorah Santa Ana called a press conference on Friday and told the media that Barca's offer of a fresh deal was unsatisfactory, listing all of his achievements over the last seven seasons. The message was clear: Dani deserves better.Barca's transfer ban for 2015 means that even if they sign a replacement for Alves this summer, that player - and the favourite is Torino's Italian international Matteo Darmian - would not be able to feature until the sanction expires in January 2016.
Were it not for the ban, Barca would be more willing to let Alves leave and the Catalans' initial offer of one year plus the option of two more is proof of that. But the player and his agent, aware that this is likely to be the last lucrative deal of his career, have been pushing for a three-year contract for the Brazil defender.
"We waited a whole year to talk to Barca," Santa Ana said on Friday. "We had two offers on the table, but we stopped all negotiations to listen to what Barca had to say". She added: "There is another club willing to give Dani a three-year contract with a higher wage, plus the option of another year. But Barca told us they could not get near those figures.
