PSG: Dani Alves close to renewing contract
After several rounds of talks, Dani Alves is reportedly close to agreeing a new one-year deal with PSG with the possibility of an extension for another season.
Dani Alves is understood to be close to signing a new deal with PSG which will keep him at the French club for at least one more season.
Representatives of the Brazilian defender and the club’s directors have apparently reached an initial agreement and are set to hammer out the rest of the details throughout this week.
Alves, who will turn 36 in a few weeks’ time, had reportedly asked for a two-year extension on his current contract that expires in June. PSG’s owners, however, were only willing to offer the Brazilian a one-year deal – something which the player initially would not agree to, prompting him to threaten to walk away at the end of the season.
But after several meetings, both parties are understood to have come an agreement which will see Alves accept a one-year contract with the possibility of extending that for another season – depending on his performance and on the condition that he plays a certain number of games next season.
Tuchel and Neymar’s support for Alves
The news will be warmly welcomed by PSG coach Thomas Tuchel and team mate and compatriot Neymar, who have been ardent supporters of the defender throughout the process.
Amid the deadlock in talks between Alves and PSG in late March, Neymar reportedly confronted club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to demand that the club give his team mate a new deal, reportedly emphasising that he felt better in Paris having his friend around.
Tuchel, on his part, also approached the club’s hierarchy to stress that the veteran full-back’s enthusiasm and experience was of great importance to the squad.
The ex-Barcelona defender joined PSG in summer of 2017 after one year at Juventus, and was a key figure in the Paris club's Ligue 1 success last season, scoring five goals and providing 10 assists in 41 games across all competitions.
After being side-lined with a ligament issue that saw him miss the first 13 league games of the season, Alves has been regular on coach Tuchel’s team sheet, starting 15 of the 20 Ligue 1 games since his return from injury at the end of November. In the 26 games he has played in all competition this season, the Brazilian defender has provided two goals and seven assists.