Alves made his competitive and European debuts for Barcelona against Wisła Kraków in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League third-round qualifiers on 13 August 2008. He made his La Liga debut in the Liga season-opener away to Numancia on 31 August 2008. Later on in his debut season, he missed the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final due to a yellow-card suspension, although Barcelona nonetheless defeated Manchester United 2–0 to complete the treble after also winning La Liga and the 2008–09 Copa del Rey.