Football
ESPN staff 10y

Alves to talk Barca future with coach

Dani Alves said he will meet with Barcelona manager Luis Enrique with the hope of determining where his future lies with the Catalan club.

Upon his return to Spain on Tuesday, Alves said he will meet with the club's new coach "and then we can decide whether I stay at the club or not. The decision is not all mine. My idea is to meet the contract I have signed but there has to be a mutual agreement."

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It had been widely thought that Alves, 31, would leave the Camp Nou this summer, as part of an overhaul of the squad under its new coach. Long-serving players including Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Cesc Fabregas have already moved on as part of that shake-up, with the future of others including Xavi Hernandez also up in the air.

However, Alves' potential move to Paris Saint-Germain has reportedly stalled, while Barca's reported plan to replace him with Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado has not yet moved forward either.

"I am very happy at Barca," said Alves, who since joining the club from Sevilla in 2008, has won 16 trophies including a pair of Champions Leagues and four domestic titles. "We have lived some marvelous years, the last few not so much, but now it is time to return this club to enjoy again."

At the World Cup, Alves was relegated to substitute in the knockout stages after starting for Brazil in the pool stage.

"The last matches were tough. A lot of our people felt deception because they had deposited so much hope in this team. Life is like that, but they should not doubt our work."

Alves said Neymar "is OK but can't move around easily. When we return to training he will start up again. There is no reason to worry."

Regarding the FIFA ban for Barca's newest acquisition, Luis Suarez, Alves said: "There were worse hits that were not punished. His was a pointed act during a heated moment. That he can't even be presented as a new player is very strange. It is a luxury for Barca to have him here."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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