Dani Alves Reveals He 'Pretty Much' Had Liverpool Transfer Agreement in 2006

Legendary wing-back Dani Alves has detailed how close he came to joining Liverpool in 2006 before eventually moving to Barcelona from Sevilla in 2008.

The Paris Saint-Germain star was impressing in Andalusia when the Reds were interested. And according to Alves, the deal was close to going through, per FourFourTwo:

"I pretty much had an agreement with Liverpool. But, for whatever reason, it didn't happen at the last moment and I really don't know why as I wasn't the one conducting the negotiations.

"I had other people representing me back then. Something similar happened later in my career with Chelsea and Real Madrid.

"Of course, it all worked out happily for the Cules [Barcelona fans] in the end, and also for me as I was able to write an amazing story at the Camp Nou instead."

JAVIER BARBANCHO/Associated Press

Alves went on to enjoy remarkable success in his eight years at Barcelona, winning the UEFA Champions League on three occasions, La Liga six times and cementing his place as one of the key men in a dominant spell for the Blaugrana.

He also enjoyed Serie A and Coppa Italia success with Juventus last term and is primed to win more silverware with PSG in 2017-18. As B/R Football noted after he agreed to move to the Ligue 1 club in July, Alves has enjoyed a lot of success in his career:

It appears things could have been different for the Brazilian, though, with Rafael Benitez seemingly close to bringing him to Anfield.

Speaking to Paul Salt of BBC Radio Merseyside during the summer (h/t ESPN FC), the club's chief executive at the time, Rick Parry, also detailed how close the transfer was to being done:

"We had the deal—finally, after enormous complications—tied up for Dani Alves and then the decision was should we buy two players or should we spend all of that on a full-back? Would he have been a better signing than [Jermaine] Pennant and [Peter] Crouch, for example? Probably yes, but it's easy with hindsight."

Alves is one of the best full-backs of all time, and while he may no longer be the raiding presence he was during his heyday, the 34-year-old can still have a big impact on matches, as Sky Sports Statto noted:

Liverpool have chopped and changed at right-back a lot since 2006, with the likes of Steve Finnan, Alvaro Arbeloa, Glen Johnson and more recently Nathaniel Clyne all filling the role. While they were all fine players for the Reds, Alves would have offered a different dynamic.

For the man himself, there can't be too much disappointment that his proposed switch to Merseyside fell through given he went on to become a crucial player in one of the greatest teams the sport has seen. Based on his recent form, it appears as though he still has a lot more to give.