He was received at the Morumbi stadium, in front of 44,000 fans. Idols of the club's recent history, such as Hernanes, Kaká and Luís Fabiano were responsible for welcoming him. Alves received the number 10 shirt upon his arrival. He made his debut on 18 August 2019, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 league win over Ceará at the Morumbi. Despite being a right-back throughout his career, he generally played in central midfield during his time at São Paulo, mainly during Fernando Diniz's tenure between 2019 and 2021. He was also made first team captain at the time of his arrival. In 2021, new manager Hernán Crespo made Alves return to a more defensive role, playing him as a right-sided wingback. At the same time, he gave the captain's armband to Miranda, who was returning to the club after a decade. In May, he won his only title with the club and the 42nd of his career, the Campeonato Paulista, which also ended São Paulo's 8-year trophyless period. On 10 September 2021, Alves' representatives communicated to São Paulo that he would no longer return to training and subsequently play for the club following a dispute over unpaid image rights. His contract was terminated six days later. Since then, São Paulo has agreed, in the same month, to pay Alves R$400,000 monthly over the next 5 years starting from January 2022. This is being done to cover the R$18 million debt at the time of the breakup, owing to the contract agreed in 2019, who São Paulo FC were increasingly unable to pay him then. Return to Barcelona On 12 November 2021, Barcelona announced an agreement in principle to sign Alves on a deal until the end of the season. He only became available for the team's official matches starting January 2022. In December 2021, he made his second debut for the Blaugrana in a friendly, honoring Diego Maradona, match against Boca Juniors, and made his debut in official matches for the Blaugrana on 5 January 2022, in a Copa del Rey 2–1 win over Linares Deportivo. On 6 February 2022, he scored for the first time since returning, in Barças 4–2 home win over Atlético Madrid in the league; he also provided an assist for Jordi Alba and was sent off for a foul on Yannick Carrasco in the same match. On 15 June 2022, Alves announced via a