Friday, December 31, 2021 at 08:52• Tom Rofekamp • Last update: 08:58

Dani Alves does not have good memories of the collaboration with Josep Maria Bartomeu. The 38-year-old defender returned to Barcelona last November, which he would not have done had Bartomeu still been president of the club. Alves worked with the Catalan between 2010 and 2016, before leaving for Juventus.

“I would not have accepted an offer from Bartomeu,” Alves told Alkass Sports Channels. “I left when he was president and there was no point in working with him again.” Bartomeu started in 2010 as a board member of the Barcelona basketball branch. In July of the same year, he became vice president on the ‘normal’ club board. Bartomeu held that position until early 2014, when he became president. Bartomeu voluntarily resigned from Barcelona in October 2020, after a long period of criticism of his policies. The former president was blamed, among other things, by the financial crisis and a poor transfer policy socios from the club.

Bartomeu was also retroactively blamed for Lionel Messi’s departure. The Argentinian, who was forced to transfer to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, already wanted to leave Barcelona at the beginning of last season because of Bartomeu’s attitude. The departure of his former teammate hurt Alves to see. “Messi’s departure was difficult. The club had problems and it was difficult to keep him. I was against his departure because he is a living legend at Barcelona. Unfortunately things didn’t go the way we wanted, but I hope one day he returns and that we can play together.” Alves played with Messi at Barcelona between 2008 and 2016. Together they won 23 prizes, including the sextuple in 2009.

Alves has more confidence in current president Joan Laporta, under whom he first came to the club in 2008. The Brazilian thinks Laporta’s return will be “beneficial for Barcelona.” The Brazilian made 391 appearances for the club in his first period in Catalonia, scoring 21 times and providing 101 assists. From January, Alves is eligible to play and can make his comeback for los Azulgrana. However, the next duel with Real Mallorca (January 2) will probably come too early: the back is recovering from a corona infection.