Dani Alves will wear the famous No.8 shirt at Barcelona after arriving back at the Camp Nou for a second spell with the Catalan giants.
The Brazilian has previously worn the numbers 2, 6, 20, and 22 for Barcelona but will take over the No.8 for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, as confirmed by the club.
The No.8 was most recently worn by midfielder Miralem Pjanic who moved to Turkish side Besiktas on a season-long loan in September. Club president Ahmet Nur Cebi has claimed the club would like to sign Pjanic permanently, as reported by Diario AS.
“Pjanic is a world-class name, we would like to buy him, but it depends on the conditions,” he said. “I hope that the circumstances arise so that the operation stays within our budget.”
Other famous names to have worn the No.8 at Barcelona include Andres Iniesta, Hristo Stoichkov, Ludovic Giuly and Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo.
Alves is in training with Barcelona but can not play official fixtures until January 2022. He will be unveiled as a new Barcelona player at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, November 17.
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Warm Welcome For Alves
The 38-year-old has received a warm welcome back to the Camp Nou after passing a medical with the Catalan giants.
Barca showed Alves meeting up with new coach Xavi, who he played with during his first spell at the club, and former team-mate Jordi Alba who he will share a dressing room with once again.
Club president Joan Laporta also appears delighted to have Alves back at the Camp Nou for a second time and greeted the new arrival with a warm embrace, as shown by Barca Times.
Alves Delivers Locker Room Speech
Barcelona have also offered a glimpse of what Alves can bring to the club off the pitch. The Brazilian possesses bags of experience having won 23 trophies previously at Barca and should be able to offer guidance to the club’s many young stars.
Alves was spotted delivering some words of advice to his new teammates in a motivational speech before his first training session. The Barca players responded with a round of applause, as reported by Diario Sport.
“It is a pleasure to be here after such a long time. To return here is an honor, a pleasure. To be able to share with you again. I come to learn from you, you are now the new players in the world. But I am from the old one, and I want to convey one thing: to know what It represents this club and this shirt,” he said. “I have been abroad and this is the best place to do great things, to live. You are here, value it because there is nothing better outside. Insist that it is a pleasure to be here with you. Come to do great things because this club is made of this, of doing great things, ”
Alves will be forced to watch from the sidelines when Barca return to action after the international break on Saturday, November 20 in what is new coach Xavi’s first game in charge since replacing Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona face local rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou in La Liga and Xavi has issues at right-back with Sergino Dest currently out. The defender has a back problem which forced him to pull out of the USMNT’s Wold Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Jamaica.
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