Alves seals Qatar switch

// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Middlesbrough's record signing Afonso Alves has left the club after completing his move to Qatar. Alves was signed in January 2008 when Boro paid Dutch outfit Heerenveen more than £12million for his services.The Brazil international initially settled in well on Teesside, opening his account with a brace against Manchester United and finished the season with a hat-trick against Manchester City.But he flopped last term with just four goals as Boro were relegated.Over the summer Alves made it quite clear he wanted to leave the club and he went AWOL during pre-season as he failed to turn up for training.He later returned but he has never been in contention to play in the Championship for Boro.The 28-year-old has now signed a three-year deal with Al Sadd, who have paid around £6million for the player - although Boro say the deal is yet to be finalised, as they are awaiting the paperwork from Qatar.Alves is the fourth big-name departure from The Riverside this season, following the sales of Stewart Downing, Tuncay Sanli and Robert Huth.

Source: SKY_Sports