Wanted to do more at Juventus but wasn't understood: Alves

Paris Saint-Germain defender Dani Alves on Wednesday divulged his reason for leaving Juventus, saying he was misunderstood and was not enjoying his time at the Turin-based Italian football club.

"I've spoken about it with my teammates -- I joined Juventus also to prove to Italian football that it could improve and raise its level," he told Sky Sport Italia. "I just wasn't understood. I wanted to do something more, but I felt that it wasn't easy for me," Alves was quoted as saying by ESPNFC at the Italian Professional Footballers' Association (AIC) Team of the Season.

"I wasn't happy like I was used to being and this cost me a lot of effort. This is why I chose not to continue," the 34-year-old added.

Alves was likely to join English Premier League (EPL) side Manchester City in the summer before PSG came calling.

"I'm happy because I feel I have the freedom to play and enjoy myself here," he said.

"I just hope that Juve and Italian football realise that things need to change there, because football in the rest of the world already has changed.

"The level of Italian football has dropped and the Italian sides who did so well in Europe don't exist anymore. Italian football needs to take a leaf out of Napoli's book as they play real Calcio. This is what Italian football needs."

Alves has so far bagged the Serie A and Coppa Italia Double with Juventus last season.

He also played in the Champions League final, which Juventus lost 4-1 to Real Madrid, and is a candidate for a berth on UEFA.com's Team of the Year, having earned his place on the Serie A equivalent.

--IANS

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