Ivan Rakitic has admitted that he was "very happy" to learn that teammate Dani Alves had signed a new contract with Barcelona.

Full-back Alves, who was due to become a free agent later this month, had been strongly linked with a switch to Manchester United.

However, the 32-year-old put an end to the speculation surrounding his future earlier today by signing a new two-year deal at Camp Nou.

Taking to Twitter this afternoon, Croatian midfielder Rakitic said: "I'm very happy, brother. I couldn't image the dressing room without you."

Alves joined Barca from Sevilla in 2008 and has gone on to make almost 350 appearances for the Catalans.