[TRANFSER TALK] Barcelona is set to unveil its newest signing, Brazilian right back Daniel Alves. The defender, who can also play in midfield, joins the Catalan side from La Liga rival Sevilla in a transfer deal valued at $46 million, the third-highest in club history.

Barcelona's backline has been going through a set of revolving doors this summer. Italian Gianluca Zambrotta and France captain Lilian Thuram have left the squad, while Spaniard Gerard Pique and Uruguayan Martin Caceres join Alves as newcomers to the club.

Mexican forward Giovanni dos Santos has also left the club for Tottenham in the English Premier League, while Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o are set to depart.

New coach Pep Guardiola is reshuffling the squad after Barcelona had its worst season in five years, ending the year trophyless and finishing third in La Liga.

Alves' last press conference at Sevilla was an emotional one, as the defender and club President Jose Maria del Nido bid a tearful farewell to one another. Alves had high praise for the Andalusian club.

"I am what I am thanks to Sevilla," he said. "I arrived a child and am leaving a man. What I have lived here will be impossible to live anywhere else."

Del Nido offered more nostalgia, noting, "It is hard to say goodbye to the greatest players. Daniel Alves is more than that. He is gigantic, cyclopean, colossal. He is the perfect soccer player and the perfect individual. He is leaving as he deserves to leave, in triumph."

The 25-year-old Alves captured a King's Cup, a Spanish Super Cup, a European Super Cup, and two UEFA Cups during his five year spell with Sevilla.

Del Nido later soothed the fears of Sevilla's fans while undermining his own hyperbole. When discussing new French signing Abdoulay Konko, he said simply, "Konko is better than Daniel Alves."

As he completed his medical at the Camp Nou, Alves, who has 16 caps for the Brazilian national team, enthusiastically told reporters, "It is a very important challenge in my life and my career. I am hungry to start playing and the sooner the better so I can show that they did not make a mistake with me. I am very happy to be living this dream."

Guardiola will be taking his new-look squad to the United States for a couple preseason games. Barcelona play Chivas Guadalajara in Chicago on Aug. 3 and square off against the New York Red Bulls Aug. 6 at Giants Stadium.