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Barcelona's Lionel Messi, left, celebrates with Dani Alves after scoring his side’s third goal during the final of the Copa del Rey soccer match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, left, celebrates with Dani Alves after scoring his side’s third goal during the final of the Copa del Rey soccer match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Barcelona's Biggest Regret of the 2014/15 Liga Season Season

Jason PettigroveMay 30, 2015

Barcelona have enjoyed a fabulous season so far having already secured La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

Dreams of a treble remain very much on the agenda.

After an especially good 2015, it's hard to look back over the season and have regrets. However, there is one particular player that the Catalans are going to lose that will teach them a valuable lesson if nothing else.

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And at this point, if there aren't any regrets about letting this member of staff slip through their fingers, then there should be.

Neymar clearly looks up to compatriot Dani Alves.

Dani Alves recently turned down Barca's final offer of a new contract, per Cadena SER (via Catalan daily Sport).

The report suggests Paris Saint-Germain are his most likely destination with Manchester City also showing interest, although Alves himself ruled out the Parisians at a recent press conference, per ESPN FC. It also stated the Brazilian felt the contract offer didn't reflect his worth to the squad.

He has a point.

Take into account that he has been one of the best players in the side in the second half of the season.

His performance in the Copa del Rey final—in which Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 on Saturday night—alone should be enough to convince his paymasters to give the Brazilian what he wants in contract terms.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 05: Adriano Correia, Dani Alves, Neymar Santos Jr, Rafinha and Douglas Pereira (L to R) of FC Barcelona speak during a training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match against FC Bayern Muenchen at Ci

Add that his back-ups are Martin Montoya and Douglas, and the decision to leave it so late before trying to assuage Alves is not just strange but spectacularly unprofessional from the club. Montoya himself is also now the subject of interest from Liverpool, per Fichajes.net (h/t George Bellshaw of Metro).

The reasons aren't clear as to why talks to extend Alves' contract weren't forthcoming sooner. Perhaps Barca genuinely felt this would be Montoya's breakout season and they could afford to let the Brazilian leave.

In any event, the situation they now find themselves in is one whereby Douglas, a player who only managed 73 minutes in La Liga before the final game of the season, could be Barca's first-choice right-back for the first half of the 2015/16 campaign.

While it may be a little unfair to speculate as to just how good a fit Douglas would be, we can infer from his lack of minutes that he is the least highly rated player on the roster.

There have been a handful of opportunities across the season when Luis Enrique could've found space for him on the substitutes' bench as a bare minimum, but even that courtesy has been routinely denied him to this point.

Alves may not have age on his side any longer, but he does have experience and is still one of the main suppliers of goals in the side.

According to WhoScored.com, Alves had 10 assists from right-back this season, which is a phenomenal return. None were better than his pass to Lionel Messi in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.

Away from on-pitch duties, it's abundantly clear that Alves is also a very popular person in the dressing room. You can't really put a price on his particular brand of infectious enthusiasm.

Well, actually, Barcelona could have in the form of a new contract.

A small price to pay, but we already know how this one ends.

Mbappé's Rollercoaster Season 🎢

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