Dani Alves has revealed that a Brazilian contingent now bolstered by Neymar convinced him to join Paris Saint-Germain rather than Manchester City.
The 34-year-old was expected to head for the Etihad Stadium this summer after negotiating his release by Italian champions Juventus.
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He was, however, to end up in France and has since been joined by record-breaking countryman Neymar following his €222 million switch from Barcelona.
Alves admits it was the presence of familiar faces at Parc des Princes which swayed him towards PSG, with club ambassador Maxwell playing a leading role in talks.
"He is one of the main reasons I am here today, he played a big part in convincing me,” Alves told Ligue 1’s official website.
“I have lots of friends here and your friends always end up convincing you to join them.
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"Maxwell, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Lucas and Thiago Motta - having those guys around makes me feel at home already.
“The passion for football here too is special, even if this is a young club, it has a rich tradition of Brazilian players and I want to make the Brazilian link here even stronger."
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Alves has enjoyed success throughout his time in Europe, from Sevilla to PSG via Barcelona and Juventus.
He has already added to his trophy collection in France, with a Trophee des Champions triumph, and is looking forward to writing an exciting new chapter in his distinguished career.
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The buccaneering full-back added: "When you hear that the club has dreams and ambitions that I share, it gives me strength and motivation. That is why I decided to come to here.
"It's one of the biggest challenges of my life to be part of this PSG project, for me it's incredible, it's immense, one of the biggest challenges in my life."
Alves has penned a two-year contract with PSG and will help them to open their 2017-18 Ligue 1 campaign with a home date against Amiens on Saturday.
