by Gerard Reyes
There is, rather unfairly, a feeling within football circles that once a player passes their 30th birthday their career is only going to head in one direction.
Certain goalkeepers are the obvious exceptions to the rule, with many of those competing at the highest level until well into their 30s, but many outfield performers are considered to be spent forces at a point in their lives where most professions would look upon their experience as invaluable and a commodity to be embraced.
However, modern day sportsmen and women are among the most highly-tuned performers on the planet and a willingness to embrace healthy eating habits and to work hard in training is delivering greater rewards.
No longer should a 30th birthday be looked upon as a downturn in the career cycle, with there every reason to believe that those at the very top of the game have many fine years ahead of them.
That is an approach recently adopted by Barcelona during lengthy contract extension negotiations with Dani Alves.
Admittedly there was never any talk, in public at least, of age or of the Brazilian suddenly becoming a piece of the puzzle no longer required.
Discussions dragged on, though, for longer than any of those concerned would have liked, with there a very real threat at one stage that he could depart Camp Nou this summer at the end of his previous deal.
There were no shortage of suitors willing to snap him up, with Manchester United and Paris St Germain among those to be heavily linked with a free agent approach, but they have ultimately been left to turn their attention elsewhere.
On the back of a Treble-winning campaign, which reached its climax in the Champions League final, Alves has committed to another two years in Catalunya.
Images of the smiling 32-year-old putting pen to paper suggest all is well in the Barca camp and that murmurings of discontent have been quickly forgotten.
Dani Alves signs contract renewal with #FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/qSs3aFrJl2
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) June 9, 2015
It is easy to see why both parties should be pretty happy with their lot, with Alves avoiding the need to pack his bags for pastures new – which would have resulted in another settling in period – while the reigning Spanish champions and general 8/11 shots within La Liga betting markets to defend that crown next term still have one of the finest attacking full-backs of his generation still on their books.
There appears to be no reason why the Brazil international cannot remain in that elite bracket through to 2017, with his numbers in 2014/15 actually showing an improvement on the recent past.
Last season saw Alves take in more minutes, both domestically and in Europe, than he has since 2011/12, suggesting that there is still plenty of fuel left in the tank, while his return of 29 starts in the league has only been bettered once in the last five years.
He also provided more assists, six compared to three, than he did last season, put in more tackles per performance, 4.1 compared to three, more crosses and enjoyed a higher pass completion rate, 88.5% compared to 87.3.
Alves’ career curve, it would appear, is on the rise, rather than the decline, and Barca can consider his contract renewal to be one of the shrewdest pieces of business they will carry out this year – even if he is the wrong side of 30.