Dani Alves claimed on Friday that he would not have returned to Barcelona under Josep Maria Bartomeu’s reign, but the 38-year-old right-back has been found to have lied. A WhatsApp conversation between Alves and Bartomeu from 2019 shows that the Brazilian already offered his services to Barça at the time.
Alves returned to Barcelona last month after his contract with São Paulo was terminated a few months earlier. The full-back gave Bartomeu, with whom he had to deal with in his first period at Barcelona, a big kick after Friday. “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.”
The WhatsApp conversation between Bartomeu and Alves.
However, the fork turns out to be something else in the stem. Bartomeu leaked a screenshot of his WhatsApp conversation with Alves to the Spanish press on Friday afternoon. On May 18, 2019, the full-back sent to Bartomeu: “Mr. President, how are you? I want to come back and play for Barca in the 2022 World Cup. Let’s put our pride aside. We both need each other!”
Bartomeu said the following day: “Hi Dani, returning is not a problem, but the technical people at Barca have to agree. Have you talked to Éric Abidal (then technical director, ed.)?” Alves was thrilled and said, “I can talk to him if you want!” Bartomeu announced that he would inform Abidal, after which Alves concluded with a high five emoji.
The actual transition would therefore take another two years, after Joan Laporta had already taken over the tasks from Bartomeu. The latter came under enormous pressure in Barcelona last year. The socios accused him of financial mismanagement, with which he brought the club to the brink of the abyss. The president resigned in October 2020 after club members forced a referendum on his staying on. Bartomeu therefore no longer awaited that vote.