Alves left Barca last summer in a shock move to Italy that took everyone at the Catalan club by surprise. Even Luis Enrique admitted in his first press conference of the new season that the transfer had been unexpected. And almost a year on, the Brazilian's departure is lamented at Camp Nou.
"Obviously I would bring back Dani Alves," former team-mate Xavi told Goal in an interview ahead of the tie against Juventus. "He decided to leave, but for me he is the best right-back in the world at the moment. Barca miss him a lot."
They do. Alves spent eight successful seasons at the Catalan club, where he was a fixture on the right side of defence, winning 23 trophies for the Blaugrana and forming a wonderful understanding with Lionel Messi in particular, providing more assists for the Argentine attacker (42) than anyone else.
Alves almost left Barca a year earlier. Contract negotiations with the club reached a stalemate and the player had decided to leave until talks restarted and a deal was agreed just in time. By then, the club had bought Aleix Vidal as his successor, but the Catalan was unable to feature until January because of the transfer ban which prohibited the fielding of new players in 2015.
Although happy to have agreed an extension on his terms, the tensions with the board never really went away and that proved to be the deciding factor in his decision to leave in 2016.
"I like to be loved," he said in an interview with ABC in February. "And if I'm not loved, I leave. Leaving Barcelona for free was a punch with class. In my last seasons I always heard that Alves was leaving, but the directors never said anything to my face.
"They were false and ungrateful. They didn't have respect for me. They only offered to renew my contract when the FIFA ban came into effect. So that's when I decided I would play and I signed a renovation with a free clause. The people who run Barcelona have no idea how to treat the footballers."
Although happy to have agreed an extension on his terms, the tensions with the board never really went away and that proved to be the deciding factor in his decision to leave in 2016.
"I like to be loved," he said in an interview with ABC in February. "And if I'm not loved, I leave. Leaving Barcelona for free was a punch with class. In my last seasons I always heard that Alves was leaving, but the directors never said anything to my face.
"They were false and ungrateful. They didn't have respect for me. They only offered to renew my contract when the FIFA ban came into effect. So that's when I decided I would play and I signed a renovation with a free clause. The people who run Barcelona have no idea how to treat the footballers."
And he has found happiness at Juventus. After a slow start and then an injury setback which saw him sidelined for over two months after he suffered a broken leg against Genoa in November, the Brazilian has turned in some superb showings in recent weeks and produced two wonderful assists as Juventus beat Monaco 2-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
"Barcelona is in the past for Dani," his agent and ex-wife Dinorah Santa Ana told Goal. "There is nothing to say about that now. Dani wanted to go to Juventus. It was a new challenge for him and every game he plays is spectacular. He is excited about winning trophies with Juve."
The Champions League is one of those titles up for grabs and destiny looks set to match the full-back with his old rivals Real Madrid in the final next month. "That would be special for Dani," Santa Ana admitted.
And it will be an opportunity for fans of the Blaugrana to cheer on one of their former heroes again. At the same time, however, those supporters will wonder whether it might have been Barca and not Juventus competing for the title had his relationship with the board not deteriorated so dramatically in the lead-up to his exit last summer.
The Champions League is one of those titles up for grabs and destiny looks set to match the full-back with his old rivals Real Madrid in the final next month. "That would be special for Dani," Santa Ana admitted.
And it will be an opportunity for fans of the Blaugrana to cheer on one of their former heroes again. At the same time, however, those supporters will wonder whether it might have been Barca and not Juventus competing for the title had his relationship with the board not deteriorated so dramatically in the lead-up to his exit last summer.
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