Alves Agrees to Two-Year Deal with Juventus

Dani Alves is heading to Italy…

The 33-year-old Brazilian soccer star has joined Juventus Football Club on a two-year deal from Barcelona, the Italian club has announced.

Dani Alves

Alves, who won 23 trophies over eight seasons with Barcelona, joins Massimiliano Allegri‘s side as a free-agent, despite having one-year remaining on his contract at the Nou Camp.

Alves has signed a deal that will keep him at Juventus until 2018, with an option to extend the deal by a further year.

The Serie A champions confirmed their new signing in a statement released on social media.

“Juventus Football Club can today confirm that Dani Alves has agreed terms on a two-year contract with the club until 30 June 2018 with an option for an additional year,” read the statement.

“The unrelenting success and remarkable consistency of the second most decorated player in UEFA competition history has seen the Brazilian deservedly be considered among the greatest wing-backs of his generation.”

Alves originally signaled his intention to leave Barcelona earlier this summer, after stating football had become “too easy” for him in Spain and that he needed to step outside his comfort zone to improve.

The Brazil international joined the Catalan club from Sevilla for £25.5million in 2008 and went on to make 247 La Liga appearances for the club>

After passing his medical at the club, Alves will join up with his new team-mates as Juventus prepare for their pre-season tour of Australia.

López Signs Lucrative Deal to Return to Real Madrid…

Diego López Rodríguez is getting Real again…

The 31-year-old Spanish footballer will be returning as a goalkeeper to Real Madrid, López’s team from 2000-2007, after agreeing to a $4.7 million dollar contract. He’d most recently played 172 games with Villarreal from 2007-2012 and about 8 games with Sevilla in 2012-2013.

Diego López Rodríguez

López’s hiring comes as the team aimed to secure an extra goalkeeper in light of an injury that’ll sideline the team’s netminder and captain Iker Casillas for up to 12 weeks.

News of the deal came as Casillas underwent surgery to repair damage to his left hand suffered when one of his teammates accidentally clipped him during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal match against Valencia.

The operation went “very well,” surgeon Miguel del Cerro said, while urging that Casillas approach his recovery at a measured pace.

“We will follow the rehabilitation steps set out by Dr. del Cerro,” said Real Madrid’s director of medical services Carlos Diez.

Meanwhile, Lopez is expected to serve as backup to Antonio Adan, who had begun to move into the role of starting goalkeeper before a two-match suspension that opened the door for Casillas to return.

While out of contention for the 2012-2013 La Liga title, Real Madrid has a berth in the Copa del Rey semis and qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League.