Dani Alves: I pretty much agreed to join Liverpool

Dani Alves has revealed he agreed to join Liverpool before swapping Sevilla for Barcelona.

The 34-year-old Brazilian right-back was a target during Rafael Benitez’s time at the club with a deal at one stage being agreed for his services.

However, financial reasons meant then CEO Rick Parry had to abort the move, and looking back Alves feels everything worked out well in the end.

“I pretty much had an agreement with Liverpool,” Alves told FourFourTwo. “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.

“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.”

A move to England never transpired for Alves more than a decade ago, as he remained with Sevilla and enjoyed a successful period in Andalusia, and that nearly changed this summer.

After a season with perennial Italian champions Juventus, with whom he recently contested the Champions League final, it seemed he was Manchester-bound and subsequently reuniting with former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.

The pair enjoyed four seasons together in Catalonia, with Alves being one of Guardiola’s first signings, as they racked up 14 major pieces of silverware including two European Cups and three league titles.

In the end, Paris Saint-Germain swooped in, and he’s featured across 12 matches for the French giants registering two goals and two assists to date.