Why did you decide to stay at FC Barcelona?

Like I said during the celebrations and on many other occasions, I felt I was in a place I loved. But at other times I have doubted. The other day, it was very clear to me that people loved me here. Most of the people appreciate me, they appreciate how much I have worked and that’s one of the things that made me take this decision. In my life I have always followed my heart, and if I make mistakes it’s because of my heart, and my heart wanted me to stay here. I still have a lot to offer to this club, a lot of things to achieve and I have the best teammates in the world, the best group in the world. I have never been in a group with so much connection, such a good understanding and this is one of the things that matter when it’s time to make a decision. There was a series of positive aspects that accumulated and made me decide this and I think that I still have things to offer to this club.

Two weeks ago you gave a press conference where you said you felt you were not appreciated by certain elements of the club. What’s changed in the last two weeks, and can you perhaps talk us through the negotiations?

No, it wasn’t a question of negotiations. I just didn’t feel comfortable. I think perhaps there wasn’t enough respect for the amount of work I have given to this club, year after year. The most difficult thing about being professional, is to do things better than what you've already done, and we’ve done that at this club. We have achieved something enormous. I got the feeling that people were pointing a finger at me when things were going wrong. I felt a little on the outside. Perhaps not appreciated. At times, the club and the fans made me doubt if I should stay, but with work and professionalism I changed their mind. All through Sunday my teammates were winning me over emotionally and then at the Camp Nou I felt like I had been mistaken, that I was loved, that the people here do appreciate me and that made me decide to stay.

From the outside it looked like it was a battle between the club and Dani Alves, but in the end the Club won because you accepted the contract. Do you feel like you lost the argument?

No, it wasn’t a question of winning or losing. It was a question of us both agreeing to something that would beneficial to both sides. It wasn’t a fight between me and the club, it wasn’t just a matter of financial understandings. If it was about money I wouldn’t have stayed. But I follow my heart and my heart told me to stay and that my challenge wasn’t to leave and start over somewhere else, but to keep reinventing myself in the same place so that this dream can be longer. For me staying here and continuing to write history is a great thing, I think that this book still has some pages in it.

Two weeks ago you said “If the president wants me to stay here, he knows what he needs to do.” What was it that the president did then? Can you please walk us through your relationship with the president?

I want to make it clear that I don’t have a bad relationship with the president. Quite the opposite, I have a very good relationship with him. But everybody defended their rights in this case; he defended the club and I defended that of myself and my people. It was a negotiation process, they offered me something, I didn’t like it and I asked for something else, they didn’t give me that, but in the end we made an agreement. When I spoke about the club, I spoke about the club in general, not of the president. If I say I didn’t feel comfortable, it wasn’t because of the president, it was about everything. There were people doubting me, if I wasn't performing as well as expected of me, a lot of people said I was finished. I am very stubborn about these things, and when I hear it I fight hard to stop people from doubting me. I don’t worry about people doubting me. As long as I don’t doubt myself, things will be as good as they’ve been so far.

When you had doubts about your future what did Leo Messi tell you? He recently said you’re the best right back in the world.

Leo told me: “Dani, stay here. Where would you find a better place than this?” About a year ago when there were rumors about both of us leaving the club we had the same conversation. We wouldn’t feel better in any other place.

Two days ago Aleix Vidal was presented. Do you think that this signing places higher demands on you?

Of course, and I love new players to come and contribute new things to this team, it’s motivating to have competition. The more full backs there are, the more motivated I am. He’s a very good player, and it’s not just coincidence that he’s here at Barça. I think that I will do better and he will do better because we are going to work very hard. There’s going to be a healthy competition between us. I think he can help us to continue making history, as I believe we still have a lot to offer.

Barça is the only team that has two trebles in history. Do you think that this team will have the hunger to win things again next season?

Winning is a vice. It’s a good vice, a healthy vice when it doesn’t hurt you or others. When you win something this big, there’s nothing more you can win. But you can reinvent yourself, do something more to try and maintain that level, to keep competing like we know. We’ve learned with every knock we’ve gotten when we weren’t winning. The team had the strength, with the addition of our coach and his staff and everyone, to reinvent itself. And I think that our big test will be repeating what we did this year, even though it’s going to be very complicated.

What role did Lucho have in your decision to stay?

He has always had faith in me, he always looked after me. At the start of the season when I had doubts about staying he said something that had a big impact on me and which I remembered when the whistle blew at the end of the game in Berlin, he said: “Dani, stay. We are going to enjoy this year.” In the end I stayed and I enjoyed it. And since he’ll stay, I thought I’ll stay too. Let’s just stay here and keep enjoying ourselves. Yeah, he did have an influence. I like people who work hard and who have got a lot of character and personality. I’m a lot like him, especially the way he was like when he was a player, now he’s a bit calmer. I think that when you work hard you achieve a lot and our treble is evidence of that.

Did you speak to any of the potential presidents?

I haven’t, but my office did. All the candidates said they wanted me to stay. But I tried to stay away from these things as much as possible, I have agents and they do a great job. They work on that kind of thing. I don’t want distractions, that’s why I didn’t talk to the media for six months. but then I reached my tipping point two weeks ago. There were a lot of things being said, a lot of nonsense and people kept asking if I was committed to the team, if I was going to leave and my response to them was to tell them to leave me in peace, I want to enjoy myself, playing for this club. I knew I took a risk with the last presser because I knew that if we hadn’t won the titles left in play I would have been blamed. But I’m brave and I took that chance and everything worked out in the end.

What did the president say when you said you were renewing your contract?

He said he was very happy. I don’t know if he really meant it, but he looked happy to me. Joking aside, I get on really well with him. It may not seem that way, but I really like the president. Especially now when I have renewed my contract.

You said the other day that you were 200 percent with the team but only 10 percent with the club. Now what’s the situation?

Things change in life. In the end I’m still here and that’s what my heart wanted. I was upset, because I wanted to stay here and I saw that I wasn’t doing enough to achieve that. But look, everything worked out well in the end. Enjoying ourselves again, we have achieved all the objectives we set ourselves, there has been a turnaround, and now I’m very happy to have made my decision to stay. I love this club, because of everything it has given me and everything it’s going to give me.

With this new contract do you see yourself retiring at Barça maybe in the same way Xavi did?

I don’t expect to be treated the same way as someone as great as Xavi, because I know I could never get that. I like setting myself objectives that I can achieve. I have a three-year contract, and I’m saying three years because I’ll do whatever it takes to stay the optional third year. Next year will be better for me than this one, I’m sure. Retiring at Barça is an option, but if I were to leave I wouldn’t like to go somewhere where I could face [Barça].

You are saying that people didn’t appreciate you, saying that you were finished. But the manager, the president, even Messi has asked you to stay. Who are these people that caused you to feel bad? Who are you referring to exactly?

Some of the fans, people from inside the club. There were some information that reached me and which upset me, but also served as a motivation to improve. And I managed to turn things around because of what we achieved as a team. In a collective sport, individual achievements are a consequence of what the team does.

What was it that drove you to tears during the celebration? The fans, your teammates?

It was a bit of everything. All coming together that day. I was just really, really happy. Things that was said by my teammates I felt a little bit sensitive, when I started speaking and the fans chanted my name, when I said I wasn’t sure if this was over and the fans and my teammates were telling me to stay… I just couldn’t hold back the tears. I think perhaps I was one of the players that was questioned the most, but through hard work and being strong mentally I have achieved what I had to do, and I managed to stay at the same level as my teammates.

Do you think that the feeling in the squad at the moment is as great as when you won the treble, for the first time?

I don’t like making comparisons, but I think there’s a better feeling now than at that time. There’s a lot of joy and that’s contagious. I think every individual has a good and a bad side, but I think that as a group it’s a little bit better now than before.

When you said you were only 10 percent with the club and 200 percent with the team, we thought your problem was with the president. But now you're saying that’s not true, you say that you actually like the president. So perhaps there are other things in the club that are bothering you. Do you hope that Bartomeu is elected president or do you hope that things change here?

I wish the same luck to everybody. There are also other candidates that I like. But at the end of the day the club isn’t its president, this is a club where many people make the decisions. Evidently he has the final word, but there’s a much bigger process behind him. It’s not just the president, as if he was the owner. And it’s difficult to get everyone to like you. That’s why I didn’t feel appreciated. Even if it doesn’t look that way, in football you find out everything. Someone will tell you.

What do you think of Luis Enrique’s renewal?

I’m very happy that he renewed. He got this team back to the place it should have never left. But due to football and stuff, in the end people do things better than you and you get left behind. He got our excitement back, not only for the treble, but for the six titles that are in play this year. His renewal was more than deserved. Achieving the treble, which is something that we thought we’d never manage to do again, is in large part due to him. I know that people doubted him and thought that he didn’t contribute a lot, but Luis Enrique and his staff played a big part in this team getting back to the top of world football.