Barcelona are reportedly planning to activate a one-year extension in Dani Alves's contract to keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
The 38-year-old returned to Camp Nou on a free transfer in the latter stages of last year and has made 13 appearances since being registered at the start of the year.
Alves's current deal is due to expire at the end of June, but Barcelona have the option to extend the agreement until June 2023.
According to Marca, the Catalan outfit are planning to keep hold of the Brazilian for another year, with his off-the-field conduct seen as a huge positive by head coach Xavi.
The report claims that Alves is playing 'a fundamental role in the dressing room', with a number of younger players at Camp Nou looking to the experienced defender for guidance.
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The defender also allegedly provided 'an important mental boost' to the squad at a time when Xavi was looking to improve morale after replacing Ronald Koeman at the helm.
Alves was left out of Barcelona's Europa League squad, but he has been a regular in La Liga, featuring on 10 occasions, contributing one goal and two assists in the process.
Meanwhile, the South American has played twice in the Copa del Rey and once in the Spanish Super Cup since returning to the club that he initially represented between 2008 and 2016.
In his first spell at Camp Nou, Alves made 391 appearances for Barcelona, winning six La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey crowns and three Champions League trophies.
"I hope he will continue with us - Dani Alves can be considered a role model. His impact for our team is amazing, he helps us a lot," Xavi told reporters when asked about the defender earlier this year.
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However, speaking last month, Alves claimed that he had still not been contacted by Barcelona to discuss a possible extension.
"Nobody from the club told me about my future, there are no talks ongoing yet," Alves told Mundo Deportivo. "Not only the youngsters, but also the old players now have to show that they deserve to play in this Barca team."
Alves played 89 minutes of Barcelona's 2-1 win over Mallorca in the league on May 1, and he is again expected to be in the squad for this weekend's contest with Real Betis.
The Catalan giants saw Real Madrid secure the La Liga title last weekend, but they are in pole position to finish second in the table leading into their final four league games of the campaign against Real Betis, Celta Vigo, Getafe and Villarreal.
Alves's fellow right-backs Sergino Dest and Sergi Roberto have both been linked with moves away from Barcelona in recent months, but both are now likely to stay for the 2022-23 campaign.
Matt Law
