Dani Alves is back at Barcelon, with the Brazilian full-back making it clear that Catalunya would be the only destination for him as he mulled over career options at the age of 38.
The veteran defender collected 23 trophies during his previous stint with the Blaugrana, as he formed part of iconic teams under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.
He has retraced those steps in a bid to help Barca through a testing period on and off the field, with Alves being reunited with former team-mate Xavi in familiar surroundings.
In mid-September, after two seasons back in his native Brazil, Alves saw his contract terminated at Sao Paulo.
Having dropped into a free agent pool, the buccaneering right-back made the decision that he wanted to return to Europe – where he has also represented Sevilla, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
That desire was so strong that two offers from teams in Mexico’s Liga MX were knocked back, with one of those a two-year deal that was worth considerably more than the terms agreed in Spain.
Alves, though, made it clear from the start that his preference was to rejoin Barcelona, with the South American never shying away from the fact that he dreamt of turning out for the Blaugrana again.
Following a public admission that he would be open to being absorbed back into the fold at Camp Nou, first contact was made by the Liga giants at the start of October.