Barce set to make Alves last offer in bid to fend off City
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Barcelona set to make Dani Alves one last contract offer in bid to fend off Manchester City
City target: Barcelona's Alves is wanted at Eastlands
Barcelona are ready to improve their ‘final’ contract offer to Brazil defender Dani Alves in an attempt to ward off interest from Manchester City.
The raiding right back wants to be paid close to the figures earned by the club’s best players if he is to sign an extension to his deal, which ends in 2012.
After talks dragging on for months, Alves and Barca are still believed to be a long way apart, while City and Chelsea are monitoring developments.
City can offer the 27-year-old much better terms and prised Yaya Toure from the Nou Camp in the summer, though reports in Catalonia insist Alves’s first choice would be to remain at the club.
Barca, who are determined to rein in spending after announcing annual losses and mounting debts in the summer, are reluctant to hand out another mega contract.
But they are exploring ways of topping up the former Sevilla player’s salary with incentives in a deal that would satisfy both sides.
Barca hope to conclude talks before the transfer window reopens in January, which will be the optimum time to sell if no agreement seems likely.