Dani Alves Reveals That Music Is His First Love and Why Brazil Legend Cafu Is His Inspiration

Daniel Alves has revealed his glittering football career may not have seen the light of day if he had pursued his own dream of becoming a musician.

The veteran full-back has lifted 19 trophies during his superb playing career at club and international level, but Alves explained why he may have followed a different path if he had not dug into his father's own "passion" for football.

Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, Alves admitted that the pull of playing instruments had almost led him to another career away from football, but his dad's sheer love for the game helped to sway him into taking to the pitch instead.

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The 34-year-old said: “Honestly, I would have rather been a musician, but I accepted his idea to be a footballer.

“I managed to make his dream come true, something I couldn't imagine even in my wildest dreams. I made the dream of my biggest idol, my role model, come true.

“He used to love football very much. When I started to understand his passion, I entered into the football world and learned to admire great players."

With a whole plethora of Brazilian legends and superstars to follow from his homeland, Alves was not short of inspiration to try and make his name in the best leagues in the world.

Being a right-back, however, led Alves to follow one former player in particular, whose marauding runs down the right flank became an integral part of Brazil's side in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He continued: “My reference was Cafu because of his history. It was an inspiration. He was a reference to me.”

The Paris Saint-Germain star, who scored in his club's 3-0 triumph over Bayern Munich on Wednesday, also explained why he would make respect a big part of football again after stating his belief that it had fallen behind other areas in making football stars the best individuals they can be.

He added: “I would change the respect. I believe football lacks it. Well, actually, I would change that the people in charge of football would do it for love and not for other interests.

“They take advantage of other people's dreams. Football used to be a sport for having fun, for being alongside your mates and making the most of the day. Nowadays, football is a business… it's in another dimension.”