Manchester City sense chance to sign £35m Barcelona defender Dani Alves

04 December 2010 00:52
Manchester City are pressing ahead in their £35million pursuit of Barcelona right-back Dani Alves. [LNB]As Sportsmail revealed, City sent a delegation to watch Barcelona's 5-0 destruction of Real Madrid on Monday in which Alves played a pivotal role and they were heartened further by news the two parties are no closer to agreeing terms on a new contract.[LNB] Star attraction: Barcelona's Dani Alves (L) and Real Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa battle for the ball[LNB] Alves, 27, is out of contract in 2012 but wants a bumper pay hike. [LNB]Talks have broken down several times with Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu warning: 'We will not break the wage structure of the squad.'[LNB] They are understood to be some £2m apart in negotiations with Barca offering a £6m a year deal where 60 percent is a basic wage and 40 percent in bonuses. [LNB]Alves would prefer to stay with Barcelona but has backed himself into a corner and City sense a chance to sign the best right-back in the world. [LNB]However, Barca would still expect to make a profit on the £27m they paid Sevilla for him in 2008.[LNB] Meanwhile, Wolfsburg sporting director Dieter Hoeness has re-iterated that the price for City target Edin Dzeko is £34million. [LNB]Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United are all keen on the 24-year-old Bosnia international. [LNB] Mario Balotelli involved in training ground scrap with Man City team-mate Jerome BoatengManchester City and Chelsea target Luiz hints at leaving Benfica in January[LNB][LNB][LNB] [LNB]  Explore more:People: Edin Dzeko Places: Barcelona, Bosnia

Source: Daily_Mail