Barcelona fullback Dani Alves is in the spotlight yet again, after posting a video on Instagram where he donned a female wig and made light of Barcelona’s 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid that sent the Catalans out of the UEFA Champions League. The Brazilian faces action from Barcelona, who have taken a dim view of his social media antics.
Alves posted the video to Instagram a day after Barcelona’s 3-2 defeat on aggregate to Atletico, right before the UEFA Champions League semi-final draw. Alves dons a female wig, puts on a ‘feminine’ voice and impersonates what he thinks his girlfriend Joanna Sanz would have said to console him.
Speaking in Spanish, Alves says “Darling, it's just a game of football. Don't worry, life goes on.” It is perhaps an attempt from Alves to reveal that he has put the dispiriting defeat behind him, although some fans might take it in a different manner, assuming that Alves is making light of a painful defeat.
Here is the Instagram video in all it's bizzare glory:
Barcelona might take action against Alves
Dani Alves has always been rather outspoken on social media, but the Instagram video might have pushed things too far, with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu refusing to rule out any punitive action against the Brazilian. Alves’ actions have also drawn criticism from former Atletico keeper Ricardo Lopez, who said “I am in disbelief about the video – he completely trivializes the sport.”
Bartomeu had a rather balanced view of the video, saying “This morning we woke up with this video and there have been various reactions. The first is that is shows the team have got over their elimination in Madrid on Wednesday and are making jokes, laughing and being positive again.”
“Another part, though, is that there are certain socios who have been annoyed [by the video] because they feel affected by this occurrence.”
Bartomoeu noted that if any action were taken, it would be internal, saying “This is a dressing room matter and if we did [take action], I wouldn't say.” Barcelona manager Luis Enrique also felt similarly, saying “Our decision will be kept a secret, we don't want to air our dirty laundry in public.”
